Rajveer, a resident of Ramnathpura, Rajasthan was always inclined towards agriculture from an early age and had this unending desire to know about the new technologies in this field. You will be surprised to know that he used drip irrigation in the year 2000. In 2003 he started organic farming of jojoba plant but then he went to explore Europe in 2006 and worked there in construction line but his heart always belonged to agriculture. He told us about his weekends when he used to drive past beautiful fields of crops in France and he used to miss his homeland. The inspiration behind organic farming came from Europe, he saw that the temperature was cold there but still all the vegetables were available irrespective of the weather conditions with the help of poly-houses. When in 2011 he came back from Europe he religiously started practising organic farming of fruits and vegetables. He then constructed a polyhouse on his farm in 2014 for which he also got a subsidy from the Rajasthan government.

He established Prerna Organic Farmhouse in his village which is located in Jhunjhunu district and got his farm registered by Rajasthan State Organic Certification Agency (RSOCA). The total land under cultivation is 3 hectares out of which jojoba is cultivated for oil production in about 1 hectare, cucumber is cultivated inside the poly-house which is constructed in 4000 m2 and the rest of the area there are 152 plants of dates, 100 plants of red apple and 200 plants of guava.  In the summer season, watermelon is cultivated and in the rainy season, sweet corn is sown. Dates are sold in the raw stage as well as after drying as pind khajur.

He also sells organic honey at a lower price of ₹300/Kg to attract customers and organic Desi ghee of Sahiwal and Rathi breed at ₹1800/Kg. He takes orders from customers through a Facebook page named Prerna Organic Farmhouse and through WhatsApp groups. Only cucumber gets sold in mandi whereas all the other products like watermelon, Dates, ber, and guava are sold directly to customers. He also grows organic black wheat which has numerous health benefits and this too gets sold through direct orders by the customers. The customer who once buys always praises the product and becomes a permanent buyer, the reason behind this is the art of Rajveer’s seed selection and quality organic products. In the initial days when he switched to organic farming, he saw a little decline in land productivity but then as time passed by he started making profits by selling the produce at a more rate in comparison to the mandi.

Although he has 5-6 cows and makes organic manure on his own but the quantity is not enough and so he has to buy manure of ₹50,000 from nearby farmers. He has two labourers to help him on his farm. Rajveer’s father Devkaran Singh, wife Suman Singh and children Prerna and Pratik also help him in his daily chores.

Rajveer is the director of Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) named Chidawa Farmer Producer Company Ltd. which was registered in the year 2016. Lately, they have sold mustard after collecting it from the farmers.

He is not only saving the soil by not using harmful chemical fertilisers but also practices rainwater harvesting by constructing a tank in a hectare of land. Other than this he also uses solar panels for boring water through tubewell on his farm and uses the same electricity for his home. He has been implementing eco-friendly techniques in his since 2001in his village and has set an example for others by saving the environment. Other farmers in his village also get encouraged by seeing such practices and visit his organic farm to learn new techniques.

•    He was awarded at the district level by KVK Abusar, under ATMA Scheme in the year 2016-17

He will now move to kinnow farming, grading followed by processing of this fruit which is in great demand. He is also planning for agro-tourism where he plans to construct small cottages for the tourist who want to enjoy mother nature.

There is a need to stop using chemical fertilizers as it has only negative effects on our body and leads to so many illnesses. Now there is a boom in organic products and farmers can also earn good profit from such products.