There are some such turns in the journey of life that change the person. A similar incident happened with Neeraj Kumar Prajapati, a resident of Ahulana village in Gohana, Haryana. Which has not only changed his mind but has also sent his life on a new path.

Seeing the train carrying cancer victims, Neeraj dropped out of the fifth semester of BTech. and left worrying about his career to set out on a bicycle to awaken the light of poison-free farming, i.e., organic farming. In view of this step taken by Neeraj’s selfless spirit, he has been named The Bicycle Man of India.

Prajapati, Neeraj Kumar stated “My mind got upset when I saw patients going for cancer treatment on a train going from Bathinda to Bikaner in Punjab. Most of the cancer patients on the train were travelling for treatment. Among them, people from Haryana and Punjab were more.

He believed indiscriminate use of pesticides in agriculture was also one of the major causes of cancer. In view of this, he decided that he would try to motivate the farmers to adopt organic farming.

Neeraj not only taught them organic farming techniques, but he also devised marketing channels. As well as selling points for their produce today, all of these farmers are not only earning more money, but also producing more with minimal resources.

Neeraj has now trained nearly 70,000 farmers and is assisting them in producing 1,000 kgs of food per month. He successfully partnered with international agriculture institutes and housing societies to sell the harvest in 2018. His efforts did not come to an end there. Through his approach and communicative skills, he enabled farmers to travel across the country on their bicycles and set up markets for vegetables and grains.

Following his bicycle touring adventures with farming, he decided to write about his experiences in a book titled “Farmer’s Life.” Learning about organic farming and implementing its methods, he has now done everything from convincing farmers to training and assisting them in selling their produce.

Neeraj Prajapati ensures that during a trip to a specific region, he meets researchers, scientists, and experts on organic farming and then brings these new techniques to farmers in various villages.

He works as a helping hand to farmers. He listens to farmers’ concerns and then consults with experts to find a solution.

Due to the COVID restrictions and lockdown, Neeraj’s mission was on a halt

“It’s about time for us to focus on young and promising farmers, particularly those who have only recently begun working in the fields.” “Young farmers should be made aware of the

proper techniques so that they feel motivated to continue working in agriculture,” says 25-year-old Neeraj

Prajapati, who is on a mission to ride a bicycle across the country for 111,111 kilometres to raise awareness about organic farming and the problems associated with pesticide application to crops. States It was one of the most ecstatic feelings I’d ever experienced. “It had been three years since I had dropped out of B-tech, but I felt the transition was paying off,” Neeraj Prajapati observes.

Back to the beginning: How a B-tech dropout named Neeraj Prajapat became a farmer and helped the farming community in India embrace organic farming and GAP through cycle tours across the country.

He used his savings to buy a bicycle a few years later. After conducting extensive research, he began exploring various research institutes, colleges, and villages.

After three years of organic farming and he felt confident enough to train other farmers in nearby Haryana and Punjab districts.

This engineering dropout pedalled more than 44,817 kilometres across many northern states to educate farmers about the benefits of organic farming.

He has cycled through Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana to educate farmers about the dangers of pesticide application to their crops. He has been raising awareness about how these chemicals are produced. As a result, the country’s lung disease and cancer cases are on the rise.

So far, Neeraj has made people aware by travelling 44817 km in Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Neeraj has set a target of 1 lakh 11 thousand 111 km cycle journey for organic awareness.

“I’m about to cross the 45,000 km mark,” Neeraj said. He plans to recruit more farmers in the coming years through his upcoming bicycling programmes in various horizons, and he wants to raise awareness about the benefits of consuming organic produce and GAP.

They planned to make farmers aware of poison-free farming by travelling from Kashmir to Kanyakumari without worrying about their careers and started the journey. Wherever they go, they go to the fields and tell the people about the harm caused by excessive use of pesticides.

Neeraj expresses his opinion on minimizing the use of agrochemicals. How it is important to shift towards organic farming and safeguard the soil health and increase the microbe quantity in the soil for a valuable harvest.