Speaker: Dr. Rudraradhya, JSS
 During his days in the University of Agricultural Sciences, as a manager of a large farm, Dr. Rudraradhya was once told that all his research contributions (into plant breeding) was not of much use to the small farmer. He took this as a challenge and developed one acre in the University Farm as a model to sustain a farmer even under rainfed conditions. The speaker described how he parcelled out the one acre farm into five major segments – one each for agri-horticulture, pulses and oilseeds, cereal crops and oilseeds, cereal crops and pulses, and a homestead – with kitchen garden, water storage, animal husbandry and energy. No detail was spared in the session, which stressed on the need for self-sufficiency – in food, fibres, fuel, fruit, fodder and fertilisers.
The speaker went through the details of live fencing around the plot, intermediate bunds for water harvesting, training excess water through diversion drains and water ways into a water storage structure. For each plot, the speaker mentioned the tangible and intangible benefits, worked out the economics of produce for own consumption and markets, earnings and expenditure – assuming a six member family. In the model there are very few externally procured inputs –fish fingerlings for aquaculture, some basic equipment and perhaps a matchbox. The only capital that a farmer would need to invest is a firm mind and one’s sweat. He also mentioned some innovations to his idea that have been taken forward by other people. E.g. A Swiss person called Marcus has stretched the one acre idea into a three dimensional one – by farming in many layers (e.g. trees and their under-storey) and is able to achieve results of 2 acres in only ½ an acre.
The participants took part in a short introduction to meditation later in the evening and this was facilitated by members of the Pyramid Spiritual Trust.
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