# Bilaspur Farmer Grows Yardlong Beans Without Tilling, Building Extra Income Through Zero-Budget Natural Farming

> Yadunandan Prasad Verma, a farmer from Malhar in Bilaspur district, successfully raised a crop of yardlong beans without tilling the soil or incurring external costs. Turning a flood-damaged plot into an opportunity using home-saved seeds, he estimates earnings of up to 2 lakh rupees per acre.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Chhattisgarh · **Published:** 2026-10-03 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/chhattisgarh/bilaspur-ke-kisana-ne-bina-jutai-ugai-barabatti-jiro-bajata-takanika-se-atirikta-amadani-ki-raha-banai-42302 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Yardlong Bean Farming, Natural Farming, Zero Budget Agriculture, Bilaspur, Yadunandan Prasad Verma, Organic Farming, Vegetable Cultivation

In the Malhar nagar panchayat of Bilaspur district, farmer Yadunandan Prasad Verma has demonstrated an innovative approach to sustainable agriculture. Working on his DJ Verma Organic Agriculture Farm, he succeeded in raising a thriving crop of yardlong beans without ploughing the land and without relying on costly external inputs. By simply sowing home-stored seeds into untilled ground, the farmer created an additional revenue stream while capitalising on encouraging prices in the vegetable market.

## Rebounding After Heavy Rain Damaged The Previous Crop
The plot was already functioning as an integrated horticulture system, featuring orderly rows of jackfruit alongside parallel lines of drumstick trees. Beneath these perennial plants, pumpkin had initially been sown as an intercrop. However, heavy monsoon rains led to severe waterlogging, which ruined the pumpkin crop completely. Rather than investing fresh capital into drying and deep-ploughing the field, Verma decided to utilise the remaining soil conditions immediately by directly introducing yardlong bean seeds without any field preparation.

## Sowing Seeds Directly Without Tilling Or Heavy Digging
No machinery, tractors, or extensive digging tools were deployed to prepare the seedbed. The farmer merely loosened the topsoil at the exact spots using a hand hoe and placed his domestic yardlong bean seeds directly into the earth. Avoiding commercial hybrid seeds and mechanical field preparation brought external cultivation expenses down to almost zero, allowing the crop to establish itself with minimal financial exposure right from the start.

## Allowing Vines To Spread On The Ground Cuts Costs And Saves Moisture
Conventionally, vining vegetables require expensive staking frameworks made of bamboo poles, strings, or wires to train the branches upward. Verma bypassed this labour-intensive and costly practice altogether by letting the bean vines spread across the soil surface. This decision produced multiple ecological benefits. The broad leaves formed a dense living carpet that protected the soil from direct sunlight, thereby preserving critical subsurface moisture. Sustained dampness kept soil microorganisms active, naturally improving the soil structure, while the dense ground cover simultaneously suppressed weed growth.

## Zero-Budget Management Through Minimal Weeding
Because the primary input consisted solely of domestic seeds, the farmer describes the method as a functional example of low-cost, zero-budget natural farming. Field maintenance was restricted to need-based manual weeding. The uprooted weeds were left directly on the surface of the plot to decompose and return nutrients back to the soil, eliminating the need for expensive synthetic fertilisers and pest control sprays.

## Favourable Market Rates Provide Strong Income Potential
Market conditions around October 2 added significant economic value to the harvest. During this window, retail rates for yardlong beans stood at roughly 50 to 60 rupees per kilogram, while wholesale mandis were offering between 35 and 40 rupees per kilogram. Based on these trends, Verma estimated that well-managed natural cultivation delivering steady yields at the right time could generate an income of around 2 lakh rupees per acre. Actual realisations, however, remain dependent on total yield volumes and market price fluctuations.

## Advocating Practical Natural Methods For Fellow Cultivators
Serving as the district organic head for Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in Bilaspur district, Yadunandan Prasad Verma actively encourages farmers to curb input expenses by leaning on natural and organic methods. His initiative illustrates how adjusting quickly to adverse weather and making thoughtful use of existing farm conditions can shield farmers from financial distress, delivering dependable supplemental income without expensive interventions.

## What this means for you
This practical model provides smallholder farmers with an actionable technique to recover from crop failure without taking on fresh operational debt.

- **Across India:** Cultivators can bypass expensive tilling, chemical inputs, and trellising infrastructure to raise profitable companion crops. This sharply lowers production risks when primary seasonal plantings suffer weather-related damage.
- **In Bilaspur and Chhattisgarh:** Farmers whose fields face post-rain waterlogging can switch directly to yardlong beans without spending time or capital on drying and ploughing. Taking advantage of prevailing wholesale rates of 35 to 40 rupees per kilogram helps offset seasonal losses quickly.
- **Input Cost Elimination:** Using retained home seeds and leaving uprooted weeds directly on the soil removes the need for commercial hybrid seed purchases and chemical fertilizers. The decaying plant matter continuously replenishes soil biology naturally.
- **Resource Efficiency:** Letting vines crawl directly across the field eliminates the expenses associated with bamboo poles and netting. The resulting ground cover retains soil moisture, cutting down on irrigation rounds and labour needed for repeated weeding.

## Why this happened
The experiment was triggered when unseasonal waterlogging destroyed the standing pumpkin crop, prompting the farmer to pivot quickly without adding new debt. He chose to harness existing soil moisture and orchard rows to produce an immediate replacement crop.

- **Immediate Trigger:** Excessive monsoon rain flooded the field and completely ruined the existing pumpkin crop. Rather than waiting for the field to dry out for mechanical tilling, the cultivator acted immediately by planting bean seeds into the moist ground.
- **Cost Avoidance:** Re-ploughing the land and building vertical bamboo trellises would have required substantial labour and machinery expenditure. Using home-saved seeds and letting the vines trail naturally on the earth eliminated all major input expenses.
- **Organic Experience:** Yadunandan Prasad Verma's background as an organic farming advocate gave him practical knowledge of soil biology. He understood that ground-creeping foliage would shade the soil, protect microorganisms, and sustain fertility without chemical aids.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. Which crop did farmer Yadunandan Prasad Verma cultivate without tilling?
He raised a successful crop of yardlong beans on untilled land at his farm in Malhar, Bilaspur district.

### 2. Why was yardlong bean planted in this field?
Excessive monsoon waterlogging destroyed the previous pumpkin crop, prompting the farmer to sow beans immediately on the same plot.

### 3. How were the bean seeds sown without field preparation?
The farmer simply loosened the soil slightly at planting spots using a hand hoe and placed domestic seeds directly into the ground.

### 4. Why were the vines allowed to spread on the soil instead of using supports?
Letting vines spread on the ground suppresses weed growth, keeps the soil moist, and helps beneficial microorganisms remain active.

### 5. What were the prevailing market prices for yardlong beans around October 2?
Retail prices were around 50 to 60 rupees per kilogram, while wholesale mandis offered about 35 to 40 rupees per kilogram.

### 6. What is the estimated income from this farming method?
The farmer estimates that optimal production and timely marketing can generate up to 2 lakh rupees per acre.

### 7. What organizational responsibility does Yadunandan Prasad Verma hold?
He serves as the district organic head for Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in Bilaspur district.

## Inspiration & Lessons
This experience demonstrates how resilience, quick decision-making, and self-reliance can turn unexpected farm losses into sustainable gains.

- **Turning Setbacks into Opportunities:** When flooding destroyed his pumpkin crop, the farmer did not wait passively; he immediately planted yardlong beans into the moist earth. Adapting swiftly to unexpected losses protects rural livelihoods.
- **Self-Reliance Over Market Inputs:** By relying on retained domestic seeds and basic hand tools, he proved that high yields do not require expensive commercial purchases. Cutting external reliance is the most dependable way to keep farming viable.
- **Working in Harmony with Nature:** Letting the vines trail on the ground saved trellising expenses while shielding soil moisture and activating beneficial organisms. Aligning farm tasks with natural processes automatically minimizes production costs.

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