"Head Farmer Kali, do you mind explaining the situation of farms and the produce from it in Rai?"
They started walking towards the land. Kali replied with a sigh, "Your Majesty, our farms are in a very bad condition. It does not even produce so much to keep our bellies full. We work on around 200 kilometer square or twenty-thousand hectares of land which doesn't even produce 100 tonnes of wheat which is around one-hundredth of normal produce. Above that, we also have to give around 60% of what we produce to the City Lord as taxes. So things are only getting worse year after year and the yields are decreasing every year."
Adi saw the barren land all over with just a couple of plants here and there. He asked, "When did the situation of lands started deteriorating?"
Kali : "Your Majesty, it started around 50 years ago. I remember that I was just a 3-4 years toddler at that time. Since then, I have only seen the lush fields turn barren year after year. It feels like a disease or some curse has spread all over the land."
Adi thought about the possible causes which could lead towards infertility of soil and then asked, "What did you all grow here at that time? What do you grow here now?"
Kali answered, "Your Majesty these lands are used for producing wheat."
Adi asked again, "Since when? And what was grown here before that?"
Kali was a little confused as he answered, "Your Majesty the lands have always been used for producing wheat for centuries. We have never grown anything else here."
Adi thought he heard wrong so he wanted to reconfirm, "Did you just say that only wheat has been grown here on this land for so many years continuously??"
Kali couldn't understand what he was trying to say so he answered, "You heard right Your Majesty, I did say that. This land produced huge quantities of wheat at one time."
Adi couldn't believe it at all. But thinking further, it all made sense now. If the same crop is grown year after year on a piece of land, then there will come a day when the nutrients and minerals required for that crop will start decreasing from that land. And then lost forever until it is not replenished. That was why crop rotation was always advised to farmers in modern era. By crop rotation, the soil gets some other nutrients from different crop wastes and a single mineral doesn't end up vanishing. This way lands are prevented from getting barren. Then another thought struck his mind so he asked hurriedly,
"What do you do to the stubble after harvesting? How do you remove it?"
Adi was praying in his mind that this matter better not be same as he thought but alas, it was as he guessed. Kali said, "Your Majesty, we just burn the rest over stubble on the field as it is too much trouble to take care of it."
Adi almost swore in his mind but controlled himself. He walked forward, bent and picked up some soil in his palm. It was neither too soft nor too sticky. He asked, "Does water logs happen in the fields or does the soil absorb water readily?"
Kali replied, "Your majesty, there has never been any water logging in our fields. I can assure you that the soil is great for growing crops but it just doesn't give proper yields."
Adi already got an idea about the problem and also the cure that could probably treat this land. The problem here was that the soil's biodiversity has been completely lost. Due to continuous sowing of a single crop, the nutrients required for it has also been depleted. This was not just the case of Rai but probably everywhere in the world as they were still in the medieval period. In many places people thought about it as some witch's curse, black magic or even punishment from Gods. But it was not at all the case.
The cure for the lands will be to provide them the lost nutrients and rejuvenate the ecosystem of soil. So, to get back all the nutrients and boost the biodiversity, manures will be needed. There was no chemical fertilizers at the time so the manures will do the job. Also a little top soil from nearby sites will help recover the lands better.
Adi then put the blank, cold face again and said in a serious tone, "Head Farmer Kali, from now on, Rai will follow a Crop Rotation policy and no one will ever burn the stubble in the field. It seriously harms the soil biodiversity."
Kali and everyone present there stared at him blankly as they couldn't understand what he was speaking.
Adi had no choice but to explain the matter to them, "Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces our reliance on one set of nutrients. It also helps to avoid the probability of developing resistant pest and weeds. Soil biodiversity, on the other hand, is the mix of all living organisms in the soil like the worms and small insects which are good for soil. These organisms interact with one another and with plants and also improve the entry and storage of water, resistance to erosion, plant nutrition, and break down of organic matter."
Adi said whatever was provided in the knowledge he received from system. He saw that they were still confused so he broke it up in simpler terms. "Growing the same crop of wheat has reduced the nutrients and minerals required for it to grow in the land. We have to provide them back to soil so that the crops could grow again. That will be made possible by Manures. Also, we have to take some precautions and follow new techniques. Crop Rotation means growing different crops in different seasons. We will grow different crops on the land according to different seasons so that we can be self sufficient in the food sector and to also stop spreading the barren land."
"Similarly, there are many organisms which live in the soil which helps the plants grow better. One of the simplest example are the Earthworms. They and the other organisms together makes up the Soil biodiversity. They increase fertility of soil. But burning the stubble will lead to their eventual death and the fertility of land decreases. So, do you people get it now?"
Kali and others nodded and finally came to a realization. They couldn't believe that these things would have been the reason for this barren land and also some small things will easily solve their problem which affected them for the last five decades. These are small things with big effects.
Adi continue as he gestured towards the land, "For now, when you people will start cutting the trees for building the houses, dig about half a foot of soil from there and spread it around ten kilometer square of the farmland from here. Also, Joe, I give you the responsibility of collecting all the animal dumps and the vegetables and fruit wastes from the people and mix it with the soil. Come to the palace and collect the dumps of all horses we have brought. I want these done in under a week's time and then we will proceed to plant the seeds. Head Farmer Kali, what do you think about it?"
Kali bowed a little and replied, "We will do as you say Your Majesty. But my Lord, how will we grow other crops? We don't have seeds to sow them."
Adi smirked when he heard the question. He gave Kali a reassuring look and said, "Don't worry about that. I will provide you all the necessary seeds." He already had a plan in mind to make his life easier and achieve his targets.