Amlikuntla village
Crop: redgram
"We'd enrolled for NPM in 2004,' recounts Lalamma, 30, who has 2.5 acres and has leased another acre. "But we didn't take it seriously that year, and sprayed endosulfan. We saw farmers who hadn't sprayed any chemicals get better yields. That year, our bullock died after eating residues of pesticide-sprayed crop. Last year, we took NPM seriously.' Her plant protection cost came down to Rs 250 per acre from Rs 1,500. The yield, too, has improved: 400 kg per acre. "The quality of the grain has improved,' she says. Anjalaiah, another farmer in the village, says he was hospitalised due to poisoning after spraying pesticides: "First I spent Rs 1,000 on the endosulfan, and then Rs 4,000 in the hospital.' He says he didn't take up NPM as he is short of labour