Nekram Sharma

Nek Ram Sharma is a farmer and campaigner from Himachal Pradesh who has worked to bring traditional crops and chemical-free farming back to the state’s villages. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2023, from Himachal Pradesh ^[1].

From chemicals to natural farming

Sharma was born on 1 May 1964 in Nanj village in Mandi district and joined the family farm after finishing high school in 1983 ^[2]. He was among the first in the Karsog area to grow vegetables commercially and to raise angora rabbits ^[2]. When he saw yields falling even as more chemicals went on the fields, he switched to chemical-free farming and began visiting nearby villages to persuade others to do the same ^[2].

Commons and forests

Seeing that degraded common land had left families short of fodder, with women walking long distances for grass, he brought together women’s groups, or mahila mandals, in 20 villages to restore the commons ^[2]. He then helped the forest department train mahila mandals across the Karsog and Gohar forest divisions to manage their forests ^[2]. With others in the area, he also campaigned successfully against a large hydroelectric project with twin 38-km tunnels planned in a fragile stretch along the Sutlej ^[2].

Millets and the Nirog Yatra

After joining the Millet Network of India in 2011, he has encouraged groups in hundreds of villages to grow millets and other traditional grains, pulses and oilseeds again ^[2]. He helps women’s groups run millet food stalls at fairs and supplies farmers’ groups with natural farming inputs ^[2]. His work has grown into the Nirog Yatra, an informal network linking farmers and consumers around ecological farming ^[2].