Tag: Agriculture

Padam Singh

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Padam Singh: Cultivating a Rooftop Oasis of Organic Abundance

In the bustling urban landscape of Basai Darapur, New Delhi, where concrete dominates and green spaces are scarce, Padam Singh’s story emerges as a testament to the extraordinary transformation that passion and dedication can bring about. Born into a family of farmers, Padam always harbored dreams of creating something exceptional for his environment his relentless pursuit of knowledge and unwavering commitment eventually led him to create “The Terrace Garden,” an awe-inspiring organic haven in the heart of the city.

Padam Singh’s journey towards becoming an urban farming pioneer began long before he retired as the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi, in 2021. During his tenure, he would often frequent PUSA, Delhi, India’s National Institute for Agricultural Research, where he immersed himself in the world of home-based farming and agriculture. His maternal grandfather’s orchard provided valuable insights into fruit farming, and he supplemented his learning with extensive online research and videos.

In 2013, Padam Singh took a significant leap by establishing his Organic Farming Kitchen Garden on the rooftop of his home. Spanning 2500 square feet, this rooftop oasis comprises 400 plants and vegetables, showcasing the fruits of 35 different fruit species. Among these species, he mainly nurtures:

∙         Mango
∙         Oranges
∙         Lemon
∙         Sapodilla (Chickoo)
∙         Mulberry (Shahtoot)
∙         Peach (Aadu)

Padam’s childhood inclination toward fruit farming found a perfect outlet in this endeavor. He personally tends to each plant, nurturing them with care and dedication. His passion has sparked the interest of many, with people frequently visiting his home on Saturdays and Sundays to witness his thriving rooftop garden. Inspired by his example, several individuals have embarked on their own home-based farming journeys. Padam Singh extends his influence by visiting other households, sharing his knowledge, and even gifting plants to encourage others to embrace the joys of organic gardening.

One remarkable aspect of Padam Singh’s approach to farming is his commitment to organic practices. He refrains from using chemical fertilizers available in the market and instead creates his own organic manure at home. He learned this skill through extensive online research and by attending relevant classes, emphasizing the importance of sustainability and environmental consciousness in his gardening endeavors.

Padam Singh’s journey is a shining example of self-driven success. Despite lacking formal agricultural training, he relied on keen observations at PUSA and discussions with scientists to chart his path to success. His remarkable achievements include three awards from the Head of the All India Kitchen Garden Association, with two first prizes and one-second prize in recognition of his exceptional plants. Furthermore, his journey has been showcased on television, with appearances on DOORDARSHAN in 2018 and 2021.

Beyond his role as an urban farmer, Padam Singh wears many hats. He is a licensed advocate, a distinction granted by the BAR Council of India, an international table tennis umpire, and a sought-after guest lecturer at various universities and colleges. In his community, Padam takes pride in teaching young children about farming, imparting valuable knowledge to the next generation.

Padam Singh is a devoted father, with two sons who share his curiosity about his unique approach to farming. One of his sons is an IT Engineer, while the other holds a degree in B.Com Honors. They are deeply interested in their father’s agricultural pursuits, potentially ensuring the continuity of his legacy.

Looking to the future, Padam Singh has no intentions of commercializing his agricultural passion. He remains committed to sharing the abundance of his terrace garden with the elderly, children, family, and relatives. His dream is to acquire a substantial piece of land where he can expand his gardening endeavors further, cultivating an even greater variety of fruits and vegetables to share with his community.

Padam Singh’s journey as an urban farming pioneer exemplifies the power of unwavering passion, relentless dedication, and the pursuit of knowledge. In a concrete jungle, he has created a green oasis that not only sustains him but also inspires countless others to embrace the beauty and potential of organic gardening. In his humble rooftop garden, Padam Singh sows the seeds of change, one plant at a time.

Pradeep Singh

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Pradeep Singh: From Corporate Success to Dairy Farming Pioneer

In the heart of Rohtak, there resides a man who dared to break the mold of corporate success to follow his heart’s calling. Mr. Pradeep Singh, a native of this village, embarked on a journey that not only transformed his life but also left an indelible mark on his community. His story is one of passion, dedication, and a commitment to reviving the roots of his homeland.

Pradeep Singh’s journey began with a simple thought – a desire to contribute to his own community, where farming had always been an integral part of life. The lush fields and fertile lands of Rohtak inspired him to spread awareness about dairy farming and help fellow farmers overcome the challenges in this field.

After completing his MBA, Pradeep spent a decade in the corporate world, working for the renowned company Havells. However, he soon realized that his deep connection to his native place and his passion for agriculture called him back. He felt a profound need to do more for his community.

In December 2018, he founded “Bagdi Milk Power Milk Processing Enterprise,” a venture dedicated to transforming the dairy farming landscape in Rohtak. The enterprise produces a range of dairy products, including Badam Dudh, Lassi, Mava Barfi, Gulab Jamun, Kheer, and Paneer Pakode, all made from the highest quality milk.

Pradeep Singh’s mission goes beyond just producing dairy products; it’s about empowering the uneducated and unskilled youth of his region. He provides training to local farmers, teaching them how to obtain nutritious milk from buffaloes and what should be fed to the animals to maximize their health and milk production. Currently, approximately 80 farmers are associated with him, receiving fair prices for their produce.

What sets Pradeep Singh’s enterprise apart is his commitment to providing clean and healthy products to consumers. He owns cows, but for buffaloes, he collaborates with local farmers and educates them on best practices. This approach ensures that both the farmers and consumers benefit from his venture.

Not only does Pradeep involve farmers, but he also supports local artisans who provide him with traditional “mitti ke bartan” (clay utensils). These artisans are integral members of his farmer groups, helping maintain the authenticity of the products he offers. He utilizes modern machinery, such as a Mawa making machine and milk chillers, to ensure the highest quality and hygiene standards.

With 17 direct employees, 12 of whom contribute to the farms and five dedicated to producing ghee, Pradeep Singh has created meaningful employment opportunities in his community. His dedication to quality is reflected in the price of his ghee, which costs around Rs. 1500 per kg (cow) and Rs. 1200 per kg (buffalo), with additional shipping charges if needed.

Pradeep’s younger brother is also actively involved in the business, and the entire family supports his vision and efforts. Together, they have become a symbol of community-driven entrepreneurship in Rohtak.

Pradeep Singh’s journey has not gone unnoticed. He has been recognized for his outstanding contributions to the field of dairy farming and milk processing. He received awards from prestigious institutions like the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Pusa, Delhi, and Haryana Agricultural University in 2019.

Looking ahead, Pradeep Singh has ambitious plans for the future. He aims to expand his online presence and make a wider range of products available to customers, including sunflower oil. His unwavering commitment to his community and his dedication to quality have transformed him from a corporate success story to a dairy farming pioneer, revitalizing the farming landscape in Rohtak and inspiring many to follow their hearts and make a difference in their communities.

Chamkaur Singh

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Cultivating Success: Chamkaur Singh’s Journey in Farming and Contract Agriculture

In Ina Baja, a small village nestled in the heart of Punjab, a man named Chamkaur Singh has carved a name for himself in the field of agriculture. With a passion for farming deeply ingrained in his soul, Chamkaur has transformed his humble beginnings into a flourishing enterprise that encompasses a variety of crops and provides employment to fifty individuals.

Chamkaur’s journey commenced in 1991 when he took his first steps into the world of farming. Inspired by the bountiful fields of his friend, he resolved to learn the intricacies of agricultural practices. With unwavering determination, he sought guidance from the esteemed university, which equipped him with the necessary skills and knowledge to embark on his farming venture.

Starting with a meager two canal land, Chamkaur initially focused on cultivating potatoes. The success he achieved in this endeavor fueled his ambitions, leading him to expand his operations to two acres. In due course, he diversified his crops to include tomatoes, cotton, paddy, wheat, capsicum, and cauliflower. Over time, his enterprise expanded exponentially, now spanning over fifty acres of land.

Notably, twenty-five acres of Chamkaur’s vast expanse are dedicated solely to tomato cultivation. Recognizing the potential in this crop, he established a strong partnership with the esteemed Crevice Company. Every day, two trucks laden with freshly harvested tomatoes depart from his farm, destined to meet the demands of Crevice’s discerning clientele. To enhance his expertise in tomato farming, Chamkaur sought training from Balwinder Singh Bhalimansa in Hisar, specifically focusing on the selection and management of tomato seeds.

Chamkaur’s dedication and proficiency did not go unnoticed. In 2008, he was honored with an award from the Chief Minister of Punjab, recognizing his outstanding contributions to agriculture. His expertise in crop diseases and management has made him a trusted resource for private companies, who often choose his farms as ideal locations to conduct demonstrations for their new agricultural products. Despite his achievements, Chamkaur remains modest and shy on stage, preferring to let his work speak for itself.

In addition to his accomplishments, Chamkaur has been a beneficiary of various subsidies from the Horticulture department. These subsidies have facilitated the acquisition of essential equipment such as crates, spray pumps, power meters, and even a small air conditioner. Chamkaur acknowledges that problems are an inherent part of life, and instead of succumbing to them, he embraces challenges and strives to forge ahead, armed with resilience and determination.

One of Chamkaur’s notable endeavors has been his involvement in contract farming. In 1994, he embarked on tomato farming and wisely chose to divide his yield. Half of his produce was sold to a local factory, ensuring a steady income, while the remaining half made its way to the open market. Over time, he established a partnership with Punjab Agro and eventually forged an association with Crevice, a decision that proved immensely beneficial.

Through his experiences, Chamkaur has recognized the merits of contract farming. The fixed rates offered in such arrangements mitigate the risks associated with uncertain market prices, providing stability and security for farmers. Furthermore, collaborating with companies grants access to invaluable technical knowledge that enhances a farmer’s understanding and facilitates their growth. Chamkaur firmly believes that every farmer should consider joining contract farming and offers himself as a resource, willing to extend a helping hand to fellow agriculturists. He is prepared to provide training and nursery facilities but emphasizes that hard work is essential for success.

Chamkaur Singh’s achievements extend beyond farming alone. He has also ventured into the production and sale of G2 and G3-level potatoes.

Message to farmers

If you are a diligent, hardworking farmer seeking support, a valuable opportunity awaits. Reach out to Chamkaur Singh, he offers not only guidance but also training and nursery services. Seize the chance to enhance your skills, access resources, and cultivate a prosperous future.

Jagmohan Singh Nagi

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Corn King of Punjab

Jagmohan Singh Nagi is an avid farmer and food producer who hails from Batala, Punjab. His father was a factory mechanic and always wanted him to get into the food industry. Kulwant Nutrition started in 1989 with a single plant and a small batch of corn and is now a thriving business with annual sales more than Rs 7 crore.

Contract farmer Jagmohan (now 63) cultivates 300 acres (about half the area of Central Park in New York City) of land, growing corn, mustard, wheat, and various vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, and beets. For this he is associating and working with 300 farmers in the Indian states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, supplying food to companies such as PepsiCo, Kellogg’s and Domino’s Pizza. Outside the US, he also ships to the UK, New Zealand, Dubai, and Hong Kong. Years before the partition, he and his family were Karachiites.

Before settling in Punjab, Mr Nagi, Jagmohan’s father, moved to Mumbai with his family. Despite the widespread need, there was an acute shortage of technicians to maintain the grain mills. Because of this, his father jumped at the chance. One of Jagmohan’s father’s goals was to get his son a job in the restaurant business. However, he went to Birmingham University in the UK to study grain milling and grain/food engineering as there were no suitable programs in Punjab at that time. Back in India, he established Kulwant Nutrition Farm. Things did not go well at first as he struggled to harvest enough corn without help. However, at that time there was not a good corn crop in Punjab, so their factory collapsed. Therefore, despite the astronomical cost of shipping from there, he started buying corn from the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh. He then worked with Punjab Agricultural University to connect the school with businesses to ensure a successful harvest. The institution has provided high-quality seeds to farmers, and Mr. Nagi said he often buys agricultural products from these farmers. There is an old saying that effort is never wasted. Kellogg’s was his first customer.

In 1991, Jagmohan started working as a contract farmer trying to learn how to farm on his own. Mr. Jagmohan began working at PepsiCo in 1992, producing corn for the Kurkure snack. He says he needed about 1,000 tons of corn a month. He has also been supplying Domino’s Pizza since 1994. Mr Jagmohan started growing and producing vegetables and other preserves in 2013.

Although his farming business was thriving, COVID presented several challenges. When the pandemic broke out, the supply chain was immediately affected by COVID. Grocery stores have remained open, although many other businesses have closed because they are considered a basic service. Therefore, Jagmohan Singh focused on basic products such as organic corn flour and wheat flour. He wants to cultivate mustard oil, grains and chia seeds.

His company employs 70 people and thanks to him, farmers and agricultural students receive free training. They teach farmers about the latest cultivation methods and profitable marketing strategies. He wants to spread his learnings from an anecdote, which explained that selling ghee and cottage cheese are more profitable alternatives to selling milk.

As Jagmohan put it, “Government must nurture and promote agricultural enterprises at the local level” if it wants to encourage young people to enter farming. Food and agricultural technology are also to be supported. He advises farmers that strictly following instructions is the best way to achieve good results and avoid financial losses. Instead of following trends, farmers should carefully select the crops that will grow well in their area. A step will greatly improve their bottom line.

Message for farmers 

Being a farmer himself, Mr Nagi encourages other farmers to learn as much as possible and try new things. Those who cultivate the land must prioritize profitable crops. Millet, vegetables, and fruit trees should surround these fields. Instead of selling raw milk, he advises farmers to process the milk into products like barfis and other Indian sweets.

Vivek Uniyal

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Retired Soldier-Turned-Farmer Aiming Big Through Mushroom Cultivation

The Soldiers and the farmers are the two strong pillars of a country. Where the soldiers protects our land on the frontier, on the other hand, the farmers grows food for us on the same land. And that is why the slogan given by Lal Bahadur Shastri – “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer) is so popular and equitable.

This is a story about a soldier turned farmer – Vivek Uniyal based in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), who after honestly serving his motherland as an army man, returned to his roots to pursue farming and nurture the land with its love and care.

Vivek Uniyal got retired from the military after serving for a long time and then he joined the service of Uttarakhand Police for two years. Along with his police duty he also started farming in his free time. As his family members were still practicing agriculture, so Vivek’s inclination towards agriculture was natural and obvious. While pursuing his farming venture, once he got a chance to meet a mushroom farmer – Deepak Upadhyaya, who is also doing organic farming. And from this meeting, Vivek came to know about the different varieties of mushroom – Oyster, Milky and Button.

“Deepak Upadhyaya helped me initially in setting up the mushroom farm. And whenever I faced any difficulty he always assisted with his advice from his past experiences.” – Vivek Uniyal

After meeting Deepak, Vivek’s interest in mushroom farming took a big turn. He talked about this with his family, and even his sister Kusum also showed interest towards it. The duo of brother and sister together decided to start mushroom farming with their family’s consent. They started farming in a room after purchasing seeds of oyster mushroom from Solan (Himachal Pradesh)

To improve his mushroom farming skills and knowledge he also took training. The venture which he started within in a small room was well appreciated by the customers in the market after buying the product and profit was good too. Seeing the yield and the payback, Vivek decided to extend the level of the mushroom farming from one room to four rooms & he also started growing Milky and Button mushrooms. Along with it he also established a composting plant for the mushroom farming, which was inaugurated by the Agriculture Minister of Uttarakhand.

Along with mushroom farming, Vivek is also focusing towards organic farming from the last two years.

“Like we care and serve our mother, in the same way we should also understand our responsibilities towards mother nature. Farmers should focus towards organic farming and leave chemical farming.” – Vivek Uniyal

Vivek visits many villages time-to- time to convince and influence other farmers towards mushroom and organic farming. Till now he has established 45 mushroom plants collaboratively with other farmers. Students from agriculture university visits him to take his advice. And he also feels very fortunate to have the opportunity to help them.

“Mushroom farming is a business which provides employment to the whole family.” – Vivek Uniyal

Future Plans
In the coming time, Vivek is planning to produce products made up of mushroom such as Pickles, Biscuits, Papads etc. and sell them in the market.

Message
“Farmers should adopt allied-agri activities along with farming to increase their income. But in the beginning, they should start it on a small level, so that the business’s profit or loss will be known in advance & there would not be any difficulty or harm in the future.”

Amitesh Tripathi and Arunesh Tripathi

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Two Brothers Fulfilled their Dreams by Continuing their Father’s Profession of Banana Farming

It is said that a person can do anything if he has his family’s support, either it is about starting something new or taking an old work to new heights of success.

One such story is of two brothers who made their own mark in the society with their hard work and gained success by taking their inherited banana farm to new heights.

Continuing their father, Hari Sahay Tripathi’s occupation of banana farming, the two brothers worked hard and made their father proud of their achievements.

Being a resident of Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, father of Amitesh and Arunesh was the head of the village and he used to do banana cultivation along with conventional farming in his 65 bighas of land.

Mr. Tripathi was the first farmer to start banana cultivation in his village and at that time both of his sons were studying. Amitesh (elder son) studied B.Sc in Agriculture and used to work in a private company and Arunesh (younger son) was preparing for SSC exams along with that pursuing B.Sc degree in Biology. During this time Mr. Hari Sahay Tripathi passed away.

In those difficult times both brothers returned to their village to support their family. As their father was the village’s head, the villagers decided to make Mr. Tripathi’s elder son Amitesh as the new head of the village. And along with that both the sons decided to continue their father’s occupation of banana farming.

But during this time, a storm came in the village and destroyed the entire banana crop. In those difficult times, Tripathi brothers didn’t lose their hope and courage and after trying hard they were compensated by the government for their affected crops.

After this incident, both decided to start a new beginning with the compensated money they received from the government. Animesh and Arunesh planted all the nine varieties of banana that were earlier planted by their father. They started banana farming in 30 bighas of land and in the rest of the 35 bighas they continued conventional farming.

During this time, whenever we faced any difficulty, we resolved it by consulting the experts of banana farming. – Arunesh Tripathi

As a result of the new beginning, the crop production was very good and the income was around 1 lakh per bigha. Quality of the crops grown by Tripathi brothers was excellent, resulting to which many companies started contacting them directly to do business with them.

As banana is an evergreen and nutritious fruit, so while marketing the crops we didn’t face any hurdles as the merchants directly visited our farm to buy it. Along with bananas we also grow wheat in large quantities. – Amitesh Tripathi

Both the brothers fulfilled their dreams by taking their father’s business of banana cultivation to new heights with their hard work and understanding. Apart from being a farmer, Amitesh is also the village’s head and also has some duties & responsibilities towards his village which he manages honestly. And due to this reason, both the brothers are quite famous among the good farmers of the city.

Future Plans

In the coming time, the two brothers want to prepare banana plants by setting up their own factory together and become a successful farmer like their father.

Message
“If we do something different in the field of agriculture along with following conventional farming practices, then also we can earn good profit from farming. The young generation should come up with new discoveries in the field of agriculture with their understanding and skills, so that they can earn great benefits & profit from agriculture which is also commonly known as the deficit deal.”

Khushpal Singh

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Farmer Reaping Profit by Giving a Healthy Twist to Jaggery

In our country, most of the agriculture-based families choose traditional farming methods over modern. But still, there are some farmers who are changing with time and are turning agriculture into a profitable business and are also setting a great example in the society with their significant efforts.

Sardar Jiyun Singh, father of Khushpal Singh, a farmer based in Punjab’s Maana village of district Sangrur, used to do conventional farming on 22 acres of land.

Being born and brought up in a farmer’s family, Mr. Khushpal Singh’s interest was also towards agriculture. And after the sudden death of his father, all the family and farm’s responsibilities came onto his shoulders. He started growing other crops like mustard, turmeric, paddy, potatoes and maize along with wheat. As time progressed, he also started beekeeping and dairy farming. For beekeeping purposes, he used to take the honey bees to other states and places like Rajasthan, Afghangarh and so on, but after some time due to some reasons, he had to quit the beekeeping business.

Later, he thought of adding something additional to his farming routine. So, he decided to start sugarcane farming. To start with a strong base he gathered all the information from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana and took training from KVK Rauni, Patiala. Steadily and systematically he began taking his steps forward, and from farming sugarcane, he started processing it into jaggery.

Jaggery prepared by him was liked by everyone. On people’s demand, he also started preparing powdered jaggery and other products. After achieving this small but appreciable milestone, he never turned back and started working hard to fulfill the customers’ demand. People from the nearby village started recognizing him because of his work.

“We use fertilizer in sugarcane farming as recommended by PAU, and the jaggery prepared by the cane juice is completely chemical-free. No color or preservatives are added in it.” – Khushpal Singh
List of products produced by Mr. Khushpal Singh:
  • Jaggery
  • Powdered Jaggery
  • Jaggery with fennel seeds
  • Flax seeds powder
  • Sesame seed bar
  • Jaggery with dry fruits
  • Medicated Jaggery
  • Turmeric Jaggery

To sell the produce he is running a ghulad by the name “Zimidara ghulad Sarao & Gill” at Patiala-Sangrur road. People come from far & wide to buy jaggery and other products from him.

Most of his customers order & purchase jaggery from him on the basis of their demand. He also put up his stalls in Kisan Melas, other than ghulad. The admiration and praise that he receives from his customers motivate him more to produce quality and natural products.

In this whole venture, Mr. Khushpal Singh gets full support from his family, especially from his brother Mr. Harbaksh Singh, who always stands with him in all the good & bad times.

“Anyone can come to ghulad and order jaggery based on their choice and demand; in the meanwhile, they can stand nearby and see the product getting prepared themselves.” – Khushpal Singh
Future Plans

In the future, Mr. Khushpal Singh is planning to extend his product list, and also to introduce his products in the market with great packaging with good marketing and promotion.


Message
“Youngsters should also try contributing to the agriculture field along with their studies, job and career. We should drop out this thinking from our minds that agriculture is a work which is done by the backward and illiterate people.”

Rishab Singla

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Haryana’s 23-year-old young boy is emerging as an example for other youngsters

In this era of unemployment, our young generation is either becoming a drug addict or settling down abroad. But on the other side, there are few youngsters like Rishab Singla, who are doing miracles by their innovative ideas in the field of agriculture. This is the story of a 23 year old young boy Rishab Singla from Haryana, who wants to achieve something different in his life. He has pursued BBA and wished to do his own business. As we all know, now-a-days, each and every person, from a small child to old ones, everybody likes chocolates a lot. So, Rishab started to think about chocolate manufacturing. During his studies, he came to know that organic farming of cocoa plants is done in Karnataka. But he was not much aware about this because his father was a trader of intense sticks. In order to know more about cocoa plants, he went to COORG (Karnataka). After getting proper information about cocoa plants and their cultivation, he decided to start chocolate manufacturing.

In February, 2018, Rishab purchased organic cocoa beans from the farmers of Karnataka and for the first time with the help of mixer-grinder, he prepared a chocolate at home. In the starting, he faced a number of problems in doing this work but he never lost hope. He made a variety of different flavours chocolates successfully. In this way, he started to manufacture chocolates at his home. His family members also helped him in making chocolates, but as the work load started to increase, he hired 8 labourers in manufacturing process, resulting in employment of the unemployed.

“According to me, it is okay to earn low profits in a business but it is not okay compromising on the quality of the product. We focus more on increasing our quality rather than increasing profits. Because, currently people only get adulterated food products due to which health problems increase.” – Rishab Singla

Rishab Singla always purchases only organic cocoa beans and manufacture chocolates from them. Now Rishab has started to procure organic cocoa beans from Bengal also. After gaining complete knowledge about cocoa beans and preparing chocolates from them, now he has started packaging of the chocolates himself. He does the packaging of chocolates in such an effective manner that customers can get the idea of the quality from the outside itself. His customers feel extremely delighted after tasting the chocolates.

Being a young boy, he understands the importance of social media in everybody’s life. By using social media as a tool, he started online marketing of his brand ‘Shyam Ji chocolate’. By doing this, his business got a new direction.

“Manually, the work can be done with more accuracy and perfection rather than using machines. But efficiency of work can be more using machines and also it becomes easy to do with the help of these.” – Rishab Singla

Products by Shyam Ji Chocolate:

  • 85% Organic Dark Chocolate Bar
  • 75% Organic Dark Chocolate Bar
  • 55% Organic Dark Chocolate Bar
  • 19% Organic Chocolate Bar In So much Different flavors
  • Sea salt Organic Chocolate Bar

Invention

  • Mind Booster Chocolate Bar
  • Jaggery Chocolate Bar
  • Chia Seeds Chocolate Bar
  • Fiber Booster Chocolate Bar
  • Black Pepper Chocolate Bar
  • Flex Seeds Chocolate Bar

Festival Item

  • Festive Celebration Assorted 15 pieces Chocolate Box

Future plans:
As Rishab has been into chocolate manufacturing for a year , he plans to continue his work only in high quality chocolates.

He also has plans to establish his own chocolate company which will be equipped with all the latest technology.

Message:
“Rishab prepares only organic products and he wants to spread his message that we must use only organically prepared products because we cannot have happiness, peace and success without good health.”

Navdeep Balli and Gursharan Singh

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Malwa Region Based Duo of Young Farmers Are Churning Profit by Pairing Agriculture with Food Processing

Food is the basic necessity of life, but what if your food is adulterated or contaminated at the very basic level during production!

Today, food adulteration is a major issue in India, producers/manufacturers have gone blind when it comes to quality and they only focus on quantity, which not only affects the flavour and nutrition of the food but also affects the consumer’s health. But one such a duo of young farmers from the Malwa region of Punjab has aimed to provide only pure food to the community.

This is the story of Navdeep Balli and Gursharan Singh who entered the market with their unique product – raw turmeric pickle and became popular within a short span of time.

Coming from a well-educated background, these two young men decided to provide what is good for the society. All this started when they discovered multiple benefits and home remedies of raw turmeric that helps in controlling bad cholesterol, curing skin diseases, allergies, and wounds, also helps in preventing cancer like deathly disease and many other disease preventing properties.

From the beginning both the friends had decided to do something different, so they started turmeric cultivation and reaped good yield of 80-90 quintal per acre. After that, they decided to process their harvest themselves and sell it in the market in the form of raw turmeric pickle. The place from where their product get noted among the people was Bathinda’s Sunday Market and now they have started selling it in many places in the town.

Before entering the food processing business, Navdeep and Gursharan consulted the district senior agricultural expert – Dr. Parmeshwar Singh and took his advice over farming. Today, even the doctor himself feels very much proud that by following his advice both these young fellas are doing good in the food processing market and are coming up with more basic pure processed food products to be used in the kitchen directly or indirectly.

After the raw turmeric pickle success, Navdeep and Gursharan got their processing plant established in Rampura and currently their product list has more than 10 items, which includes Raw Turmeric, Raw Turmeric Pickle, Turmeric Powder, Chilli Powder, Sabzi Masala, Coriander Powder, Butter Milk (lassi), Curd, Chat Masala, Garlic Pickle, Cumin Seeds, Gram Flour (besan), Tea Masala etc.

This duo is not only making food processing a profitable venture but are also encouraging other farmers to adopt food processing with farming to gain better revenue.

Future Plans: Planning to adopt crop diversification in the future to make their harvest nutrient rich and farming more economical. Also planning to sell their processed products to farther areas, and make people aware of food adulteration and importance of health.

Message
Farmer should start food processing with farming if they are seeking better returns from agriculture.

Santvir Singh Bajwa

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Advocate Turned Farmer Making Agriculture a Success Venture with Poly-house Farming of Flowers

Today just inheriting land is not the only solution to get rid of the loaded debt and the vicious circle of chemical farming which are making farmers handicapped day by day. Farmer is supposed to be a person who has to do the hard work by keeping in mind all the future outcomes and should also be prepared with the alternatives if anyone of the future outcomes fails. And only those farmer who understand this right way of farming by not letting get them shattered from the increasing pressure, with the help of modern technologies, ideal marketing strategies and of course hard work, let their next generation adopt the same profession happily.
This is the story of a Hoshiarpur based advocate Santvir Singh Bajwa who turned into a successful young farmer after seeing the success of his father Jatinder Singh Lally Bajwa in the field of horticulture. Alike his father he chose to do floriculture in poly-house and also made that venture a success.

Santvir Singh Bajwa while sharing his views – “Well, if we observe the trend in present youth, then you can track a clear record of youngsters either going abroad or opting an alternative career option other than farming. And the main reasons behind this is, there is no fixed income in farming and there is a fear of loss. Moreover, weather and government scheme also not accompanies the farmer in a better way which can give assurance of better backup plan.”

Gifted with the same skills as his father who successfully implemented diversification three decades back and established beautiful fruit orchard in the village of Mehlanwali, Santvir too established his own flower poly-house, where he started Gerbera cultivation. Being aware of the market demand for ornamental flowers, Santvir also started farming roses and carnations, which generated good profit to him.

“From my experience of poly-house farming, I want to share an important information with other farmers that farming in poly-house needs the extreme care of the crops and proper farming practices then only you can achieve a good yield. I personally consult the floriculture experts and progressive farmers and also take help from internet to give my best. – Santvir Singh Bajwa”

Even now Santvir Singh is also helping his father with new marketing strategies and is making good profit from fruit farming too.
Message
Farming in poly-house is a very profitable venture if the farmers are properly aware of the agriculture practices. Young farmers must try farming in poly-house as their future career it has great scopes and they can make big out of it.

Shamsher Singh Sandhu

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This Is What Happens When the Nursery Preparation Venture Turns Out Well In the Field Of Agriculture

When it comes to agriculture, then farmer should stop following the sheep herd and do what truly motivates them to wake up daily from their bed and stand up in the fields, whether its vegetable farming, poultry, piggery, floriculture, food processing, or door to door delivery of the produce. Because this is how a farmer can make out the best from agriculture.
One such a progressive farmer from the land of Jaats- Haryana – Shamsher Singh Sandhu, has excelled his way up in the field of agriculture by following his ideas and dreams. Unlike other farmers, Mr. Sandhu is mainly into seeds preparation which is giving him good returns as compared to conventional farming practices.
Inspired by his father’s achievements in the field of agriculture, Shamsher Singh also decided to adopt farming after completing his studies (Bachelor of Arts) in 1979 and in the next year he got married too. But following the same footsteps as his father of cultivating wheat, paddy, and other conventional crops was not that fortunate, and he was still confused about his profession.
However, the agriculture sector is such a wide sector with so many fields and opportunities, so, in 1985 he came to know about Young Farmer Training Programme of Punjab Agriculture University, it was a 3 months training programme under which there were 12 subjects like dairy, horticulture, poultry and many other subjects. He got himself enrolled in it. After finishing the training he started preparing seeds and without visiting the vegetable market or having any shop, he earned well from the seed preparation business just by sitting at home.
Apart from agricultural activities, Shamsher Singh Sandhu is also involved in a social initiative through which he helps the needy by donating clothes to them. He has made a group of farmers specially, to collect unwanted clothes and use it for a better purpose.
For seed preparation, first Shamsher Singh Sandhu himself buys seed from the university (PAU or HAU), cultivate them, harvest it when it has reached its full maturity stage and after that treat it with semi-organic methods before selling it the other farmers. In this way, he is making a good profit out of nursery preparation business. His venture is so successful, that he has been awarded two times for his outstanding efforts from IARI with Innovative Farmer Award and Fellow Farmer Award in 2015 and 2018.
Presently Shamsher Singh Sandhu is farming Guar, Wheat, Barley, Cotton and seasonal vegetables along with seeds preparation and is reaping good profit out of it. In future, he is planning to expand his Sandhu Seed Farm work, so that he can supply the seeds not only in Punjab but in other neighbouring states as well.
Message
Farmers should try seeds of other seed suppliers as well because in this way they can know the difference between the good supplier and the bad one and take the better yield of the crops by choosing the best.

Inder Singh

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Potato and Mentha Cultivation Is What Helping This Farmer Thrive In Agriculture Field with Success

Inder Singh, 67, hailing from Jalandhar city of Punjab, is a farmer who has kick-started his agriculture business by adopting Potato and Mentha cultivation.

In a tender age of 19, Inder Singh stepped in the soil and since then he has been following agriculture passionately. After dropping his study after 8th, he decided to grow potatoes, wheat, and paddy. But after putting continuous efforts for years in wheat and paddy, it doesn’t provide much profit and financial conditions were still hand to mouth. So, with the time to increase the profit inflow, he moved towards lucrative crops rather than sticking to the conventional crops. On the recommendation of an American Company – Indomit, he started growing Mentha for oil extraction alongside potato cultivation.

“In 1980, few of the workers of Indomit Company (American) visited our village and advised me to grow Mentha for oil extraction purpose.”

In 1986, when the head of Indomit Company visited India, he was very happy by seeing the mentha production by Inder Singh. Inder Singh grabbed the second position in mentha oil extraction of about 71 Lt from the harvest of one acre and was honoured certificate and a cash prize. Appreciation boosted Mr. Inder Singh’s effort and he expanded mentha cultivation into 13 acres.

Along with mentha, he was still cultivating potatoes. On the recommendation of two wise persons – Dr. Paramjeet Singh and Dr. Minhas, he started preparing potato seeds with different ways. Seeds prepared by him were so good in quality that now it is sold across Gujarat, Bengal, Indore and many other cities of India.

“Dr. Paramjeet Singh suggested me to prepare the potato seed when it is completely ripe and mature, and this technique helped me a lot.”

In 2016, Inder Singh got the license from Punjab Government for potato seed preparation.

Currently, Inder Singh is cultivating Mentha (Peppermint & Kosi Variety), Potatoes (Govt. Variety: Jyoti, Pukhraj; Private Variety:  1533), Maize, Watermelon, and Paddy. The profit he earned in his successive years was invested in machinery and best agriculture practices. Today, Inder Singh has all the modern agriculture equipment at his farm and for this, he gives all the credit to adopting mentha and potato cultivation.

Inder Singh is getting nice price for all his harvest as there is no problem in marketing because watermelon is sold from the farm, mentha is used for oil extraction which gives him an average return of 500/Lt, his prepared potatoes seeds are sold across many different cities in India.

For his tremendous efforts in the field of agriculture, he has been honoured by Punjab Agriculture University on 1st February 2018.

Future
In future, Inder Singh is planning to open his own potato chips processing plant.

Message
“Agriculture is becoming expensive day by day because of the increased rates of fertilizer, pesticides, and other agri-inputs, so farmer should focus on sustainable agricultural practices and methods to take out the best harvest.”

Nanil Chaudhary

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Meet Next Generation’s Flourishing Farmer Who Is Fostering Local Employment in Uttar Pradesh

View of Nanil Chaudhary’s farm will blow away anyone in the dreamy aromatic world… Well, you must be wondering what other than crop, cows, buffalo, dirt, and dung will be seen there? Then you guys are mistaken, because Nanil Chaudhary is a booming floriculturist from Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, and in his farm, you are only going to find colourful flowers of Gerbera, Rajnigandha, Gladiolus, and many more.

Coming from a conventional farming background, the farming journey of Nanil Chaudhary started like other farmers with the cultivation of Wheat, Bajra, Potato, Barley, and Mustard till 2014-15. Although he started like a conventional farmer, he never let his mind confined in those stereotypical thinking, and in the year 2015-2016, he entered the field of floriculture.

Nanil Chaudhary came to know about the Gerbera plantation in poly-house near Iglas tehsil in Aligarh district. After making some inquiries he came to know that large land holding is required to establish it. Since, his mother, Smt. Krishna Kumari holds large land holding, so in her name, the project was sanctioned; and this is how the Krishna Biotech was established.

“For the establishment of climatically controlled poly-houses, I invested around 1.10 crores out of which 75 lakhs were financed by RBL Bank Ltd and this was a great help for me.”

Aiming towards generating employment to improve the rural economy, he moved towards floriculture and today he has his own climatically controlled two poly-houses where he has planted around 40,000 plants of Gerbera in 2 acres; outside the poly-houses he has planted Gladiolus in 6 acres, Rajnigandha in 6 acres, Brassica in 1 acres and Chrysanthemum in 3 acres.

And how these flowers are turning the business of Nanil Chaudhary into riches:
One Gerbera plant gives 25 flowers a year which ultimately turns the production number around 1000000 flowers, and when these number of flowers are sold at the rate of Rs. 2.50 the income is Rs. 20 lakhs a year. After deducting all the expenditures there is a net profit of 6-7 lakhs per year to Nanil Chaudhary. This profit is only from the Gerbera flower, other than this Rajnigandha gives profit around Rs. 2 lakhs per acre, Gladiolus around Rs. 1.50 lakhs per acre and Chrysanthemum gives profit around Rs. 3.00 lakhs per acre.

“Excluding expenditure of labour charges, bank instalments and other input costs, this floriculture business is giving me profit around 14 lakhs per year.”

Marketing was a bit difficult in the beginning for Nanil Chaudhary, as it was difficult to deliver flowers to Delhi, but later, in 2017-18, Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Buses were the best means through which flower marketing was done mostly.

Few people who were always there standing like supporting pillars for Nanil Chaudhary throughout his floriculture journey are his mother, Dr. Mam Chand Singh (Scientist and Head of Protected Cultivation Division at IARI, PUSA, New Delhi), and Shri Kaushal Kumar (District Horticulture Officer, Aligarh).

Knowledge diffusion is the most important thing in which Nanil Chaudhary always believes and has expanded floriculture to various farmers in Etah, Hathras, Meerut and Ghaziabad districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Currently, Nanil Chaudhary’s farm is equipped with a force of 20-22 skilled workers, who make the working of the farm totally mechanized with the help of modern equipment like specially designed planter, drip irrigation system, solar power irrigation pump and much more.

In future Nanil Chaudhary has few sets of plans:
• Planning to explore the possibility of extracting essential oil from Rajnigandha,
• Expand floriculture in Uttaranchal on a larger scale
• Venture into large-scale production of Gladiolus bulbs, Rajnigandha bulbs and Chrysanthemum nursery for commercial cultivation

By venturing in floriculture, Nanil Chaudhary has observed a big change in his area, people get regular income due to the cultivation, harvesting, packing, and transportation of flowers, income of those people shows the real happiness on their faces…Concludes Nanil Chaudhary

For putting tremendous efforts in floriculture field, Nanil Chaudhary has been honoured with –
• Received Progressive Farmer Award by the Divisional Commissioner, Aligarh in 2016-17
• A documentary was also prepared on Krishna Biotech Farm, by the Doordarshan, Delhi and telecasted in Krishi Darshan Programme on 22 November 2016
• Later in the year 2017-18, another documentary was prepared by the Doordarshan and telecasted on DD Krishi Darshan on 27 December 2017
Floriculture expanded through Krishna Biotech farm with the determination and hard work of Nanil Chaudhary has attracted remunerative prices leading to set a quality standard for his family and the people living around.

Sapinder Singh

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Sapinder Singh Taking Allied Agricultural Activities to the Next Level in Punjab by Integrating Fishery with Piggery

In most part of India, farmers are adopting integrated agricultural allied activities to support their domestic economy. And why not they would be doing that, Integrated Farming System not only provides reasonable livelihood to the rural community but also provides a backup support in case if one of the business faces loss due to any reason. Following the same example, progressive farmer Sapinder Singh from Sangrur adopted fisheries along with pig farming and is setting an impressive example for the other farmers in Punjab.

This is the story of a retired personnel – Sapinder Singh, who after dedicating 18 years of his life to the Military Engineering Service decided to come back to its roots in Punjab and devote the rest of his life to farming. Coming from an agriculture background, it was not difficult for Sapinder Singh to continue farming again. But the major crops, Wheat, and Paddy was not a profitable venture from him, which was one of the reasons he was influenced towards allied agriculture activities.

In-between this period, once Sapinder Singh visited Sangrur city for some personal affair and there he came to know about the process of fish seed production at a Fish Seed Farm. After approaching the workers at the fish farm he came to know that 5-days-training-program is organized once in a month to train the ambitious farmers who want to adopt fish farming as their career for life.

“And this was when I decided to follow fish farming. My mother and I took five days training program in October 2013. From there I came to know that fish seed is supplied only from March to August.”

Not missing even a single moment after the training, Sapinder Singh decided to prepare his own pre-culture tank (nursery tank) and stock it with fish seeds. For the tank preparation, he dug a pond on his land after getting his land checked under soil and water testing. Fishery department also helped him in loan application and loan instalment process was also very smooth for Sapinder Singh.

“For fish farming, I applied for a loan of Rs. 4.50 lakhs and after sometime Rs 1.50 Lakh was the first loan instalment that I received. The remaining loan payment was also on time, due to which I never faced any type of financial problem during the establishment of my fish farm. ”

Fishery officers played the important role in enlightening Sapinder Singh with the information at the right time. They suggested Mr. Singh about integrated farming and then he decided to start pig farming as well. After undergoing the training process, Sapinder Singh applied for the loan of Rs 4.90 lakh to establish the piggery shed.

Currently, Sapinder Singh is following fish farming in 3.25 acres with 200 piglets. There was a profit of net worth Rs. 8 Lakh from the integrated farming system of fish with pig farming. Fishery and Animal husbandry, both the departments disbursed Sapinder Singh subsidy of Rs. 1.95 Lakh and Rs. 1.50 Lakh. Both Departments and District Administration fully co-operated and provided him full opportunity to flourish his business.

Currently, Sapinder Singh is running his farm successfully and whenever he gets the chance he tries to motivate the farmer to join KVK training camps, District Training Programmes by GADVASU for proper farming knowledge.

With his accelerating curiosity, he wants to stay one step ahead always. Sapinder Singh also knows what should be his next step to progress, and that is why he is planning to invest in processing plant of pig-fish unit.

Sapinder Singh is a modern progressive farmer who changed his farming method according to the latest trends and took advantage of every opportunity. Other farmers also have to understand Sapinder Singh’s approach if they want to progress in the agriculture field.

Message

If farmers want to earn well and improve their domestic status economically then they have to adopt Agri-allied professions along with crop cultivation.

Ravinder Singh, Shahtaj Sandhu

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How Sandhu Brothers Continues the Family Saga & Hatches Poultry Business to New Heights

This is not just a story related to chickens and eggs. This is a story of brothers’ strong determination which turned their small family venture into a multimillionaire project, even after facing many hurdles.

Well, who knew that poultry farming started as a side business two decades ago by a small ordinary farmer – Mukhtiar Singh Sandhu, will turn up into a great success by their coming generation.

So, how the foundation of poultry business was laid…

This is a matter of 1984 when Mukhtiar Singh Sandhu decided of investing in poultry business along with farming. Mr. Sandhu recognized poultry business as a good source of alternative income, and for the growing needs of the family, he felt it was a best option to pursue along with agriculture. He started with 5000 broiler chicks and slowly with the time and money flow he expanded it.

When his nephew joined the business…

As the time passed by, Mukhtiar Singh did his best and gave the best education to his children. And in 1993, his nephew Ravinder Singh Sandhu (Laddi) decided to enter his uncle’s business and decided to expand broiler business to new heights.

When bird flu hit hard the market and affected many poultry businesses…

In the year of 2003 – 2004, bird flu outbreak caused a major loss to the poultry industry. Poultry farmers threw their chickens in the river and they were left with nothing. No one dared to start with the poultry venture again. Sandhu Poultry also faced major hit back. But Ravinder Singh Sandhu was very resolute and he wanted to make his business stand again at any cost. He was a little scared also that this industry may get shut down, but nothing stood in between his determination and goal. He took a loan from the bank and started his poultry farm again.

“The reason behind starting the poultry business again was that my uncle (Mukhtiar Singh Sandhu) was much attached to this business, as he was the first person who laid the first brick of this business.Moreover, in our family, every education expense (primary to higher education) and family expense of every single member is taken care through this business only. Today, one of my sisters is working as a government officer in California; another sister is a government lecturer in a government high school in Karnal; a few years back Shahtaj Singh (cousin brother of Ravinder Singh) completed his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida; Marriage expense of both daughter and son… everything was done from the income of this poultry farm.”

Very few people started their poultry business again and Ravinder Singh Sandhu was one of them. After the revival period, Sandhu Poultry Farms came back with a great holler and made a good profit in the poultry business.

Expansion of the business….
Till 2010, Ravinder along with his uncle expanded the farm productivity to 2.5 lakh chickens. In the same year, they also established a hatchery with the capacity of 40,000 birds, from which they started getting 15000 birds on an average daily.
When the Shahtaj joined the business…
In 2012, after completing his studies, Shahtaj Singh Sandhu joined his cousin brother (Ravinder aka Laadi) and father (Mukhtiar Singh) in poultry business. Earlier they used to buy the feed from other companies but after some time, both the brothers took Sandhu Poultry Farm to new heights and established Sandhu Feeds. Both – Sandhu Poultry Farm and Sandhu Feed are registered under the authorized organization.

Currently, they have 7-8 units of poultry farms spread in 22 acres, hatchery in 4 acres, feed plant in 4 acres and crop farm in 30 acres, situated at Jind Road, Assandh (Haryana). To give their farm surrounding a green landscape and fresh environment, they have planted more than 5000 trees. 2 people are assigned to properly manage the feed plant and other than that there are 100 workers employed for the functioning of the poultry farm, out of which 40 are official workers.

When it comes to the hygiene and farm conditions, then it is always maintained under the strict supervision of Sandhu Brothers. After the clearance of every batch of birds, the whole poultry farm is washed and cleaned properly and then a thick layer (3 – 3.5 inch) of rice husk is spread over the ground to provide a fresh and dry atmosphere to the chicks. Temperature maintenance is another factor which plays important role in running the poultry farm, so they have installed coolers for proper air ventilation in summer season and furnace for maintaining warmness inside the poultry during winter seasons.

“A little negligence can lead to huge loss, so we always prefer to maintain the hygiene and healthy condition of the chicks. We refer government veterinary hospital and sometimes special poultry hospitals. Charges are very nominal.”


Marketing
Ravinder Sandhu with 24 years of experience and Shahtaj Sandhu with 5 years of experience in poultry industry have fabricated a strong marketing network in their own state as well as in the neighbouring states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. They sell birds and chicks feed in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan through different dealers and sometimes directly to farmers.

“If anyone is interested in starting a poultry farm then the ideal way to do it, is with minimum 10,000 birds. Initially, it costs Rs. 200 per bird and Rs. 130 to raise a bird. Approximately you can say that expenses will be in between 30 – 35 Lakh and if the farm is rented then it is 13 -1400000 for a batch of 10000 birds.” – Says the ambitious Sandhu Brothers.”

Future Plan

“Expanding farm and raising more birds was already on the checklist but the new thing which we are planning to do in the future is – investment in the business of retailing poultry products.”

Both the brothers with their unmatchable strong bond of brotherhood have taken their family business to new heights and they will continue it in the future also.

Message
“
Poultry business is a good alternate source of income in which farmers must invest if they want to earn good profit along with farming. There are few things that every poultry farmer must take care if they want to continue successful poultry business, like hygiene condition, temperature maintenance, and good quality chicks and feed.
”

Karamjeet Kaur Danewalia

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HOW A WOMAN PURSUED HER PASSION OF FARMING AFTER HER MARRIAGE AND IS LIVING THROUGH IT SUCCESSFULLY

Generally, in India, when daughters are married away and sent to their husband’s home then they get so busy in their life after marriage that they forget to think about their interest and hobbies, they just get bounded to the household chores. But one such woman who pursued her passion even after marriage and outliving it is Mrs Karamjeet Kaur Danewalia. Instead of just becoming house woman she chose to step outside the house and pursue her hobby of orchard farming.

Mrs Karamjeet Kaur Danewalia is a woman who was born raised in a typical Punjabi farmer’s family of a small village. As coming from a farming background, Mrs Karamjeet was always fascinated towards farming and had an interest in helping his father in the fields. But she never get a chance to be a helping hand to her father before marriage.

Soon she was married to Mr Jasbeer Singh, to a business class family. She never thought that after marriage she would get an opportunity to fulfil her dreams and pursue it as her profession. Just after few years of marriage, in 1975, with the support of her husband, she decided to start with the fruits orchards and give a chance to her interest. With the help of leveller machine and workers, she levelled 45 acres of land and prepared it for orchard farming. She planted kinnows in 20 acres, Plums, pear, peach, java plum, banana, naak pears on 10 acres and in the rest of the 5 acres she planted wheat in winter and cotton in summer.

Her hobby changed into passion and she decided to continue it. In 1990 she build up a pond and stored rain water in it so that, she can irrigate her orchards with it. But later on, she started fish farming in it and used it for both purpose fish farming as well as irrigation. To expand the business to one level ahead she also started preparing seedling herself.

In 2001 she created a record of Kinnow production in India. And to make the kinnow orchards business more successful, she especially went to California in 2003 to take kinnow packaging and processing training. After coming back she implanted that training and gained a huge profit from it. Since she has started kinnow farming from that year her kinnow quality is always no. 1 in district level and state level, every year. And because of her growing popularity in kinnow production, Prakash Singh Badal (Former CM of Punjab) entitled her as the Kinnow Queen in 2004

For the farming purpose, she has every type of modern technological farming equipment and machinery at her farm. Her popularity in the horticulture field has made her member of many prestigious communities and recipient of many awards. Some of them are listed below:

• Awarded First Prize in State Level Citrus Show by Agriculture Minister S. Gulzar  Ranika (2001-02)
• Awarded Desh Seva Rattan Award by Ravi Chopra by Shahee Memorial International Seva Society, Ludhiana. (2004)
• Entitled by Punjab’s Former CM- Prakash Singh Badal as Kinnow Queen in 2004
• Best Kinnow Grower Award by Agriculture Minister by S. Jagjit Singh Randhwa in 2005
• Awarded 2nd prize in state level citrus show kinnow crop (2012)
• 1st prize at district level citrus show kinnow crop (2012)
• 2nd prize district level citrus show kinnow crop (2010-11)
• 2nd Prize in state level citrus show kinnow crop (2010-11)
• Best women kinnow grower awarded by agriculture minister- S. Such Singh Langhah (2010)
• State awarded as innovative women farmer at kissan mela by PWD Minister S. Shranjit Singh Dhillon & V.C PAU, Ludhiana (2012)
• Champion Female Farmer Award for excellence in agriculture at 7th National conference on KVK at PAU, Ldh. Presented by Mr. Sharad Pawar Minister of Agriculture, Govt. Of India. (2012)
• Award of Honor in progressive women farmer on 64th Republic Day at Amritsar presented by Chief Minister, Punjab, S. Parkash Singh Badal. (2013)
• Award of appreciation in innovative contribution to Indian agriculture at global agri connect (NSFI) IARI, New Delhi presented by Dr. R.R Hanchinal, Chairperson PPUFRA, Govt. Of India, Ministry of Agriculture. (2013)
• National Awarded as Best Kinnow grower of Punjab at NRCC (National Research Centre of Citrus Nagpur) (2012)
• Bharat Jyoti Award for Meritorious Service, Outstanding Performance & Remarkable role in Agriculture presented by Dr. Bhisham Narain Singh(former governor of Tamilnadu & Assam) (2013)
• Bharat Gaurav Award as in Recognition of contribution and dedication to worthy cause and your achievement in keeping the flag of India high presented by Justice OP Verma former governor of Punjab at New Delhi. (2015)
• Zee Punjab/Haryana/Himachal Agri Award as best farmer horticulture of her outstanding contribution as a horticulturist in adoption & promotion of kinnow farming presented by Agriculture minister S. Tota Singh and Cabinet Minister S. Gulzar Singh Ranika and Mr. Dinesh Sharma editor, Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal.
• Member of PAU Kisan Club,
• Member of Punjab AGRO,
• Member of Punjab Horticulture Department,
• Member of Mandi Board,
• Member of Changi Kheti,
• Member of Kinnow Utpadak Sanstha,
• Member of Co-operative Society,
• Member of Kisan Salahkar Committee.
• Member of PAU, Ludhiana Board of Management

Despite being a recipient of so many awards and appreciation, she is always curious to learn something new and that’s why she never misses any district level agricultural events or meetings. She also regularly visits farms of the farmers who are associated with PAU and Hisar Agriculture University to learn something new from there and gain knowledge.
Today she is harvesting 130 ton of kinnows per hectare and generating revenue of 1 lakh and 65 thousand from it. From the rest of the fruit orchards and wheat and cotton crops, she is making revenue of 1 lakh each in every season.

Behind all her success, she gives credit to his husband who supported her dreams also helped her in farming all these years. Other than farming she is also contributing to a very good cause for the society; she helps in poor girls get marriage by providing financial help and other marriage material also. Her future plan is to make agriculture a more profitable commercial business.

MESSAGE TO FARMERS-
“
Farmers have to start maintaining their expenses properly and stop showing off what they don’t have. Today, agriculture field needs more attention, so young kids even daughters should also be involved and taught about this field. And everyone should remember one thing that every human being in the field of agriculture is a farmer first and then a businessman.
”

Gurdeep Singh Brar

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A MAN’S AWAKENING TRANSITION: FROM CONVENTIONAL FARMING TO ORGANIC FARMING

The main reason behind people’s awakening is because they have finally stopped agreeing to the things that doesn’t satisfy them. It is said that when a person is evolving into something good, at that time the road may seem lonely but you are simply shedding the things and habits that no longer is required. One such person who went opposite of the society’s trend and gone through an awakening transition of conventional to organic farming is Mr Gurdeep Singh Brar.

Gurdeep Singh Brar is a resident of village Mehma Sawai , District Bathinda. 17 years back a huge transition phase came into Mr Gurdeep’s life which totally changed his views and methods of farming. Today, Mr Singh is a successful and well known organic farmer in Bathinda. And his earning is also very good as compared to the other farmers who are practicing conventional farming.

Before doing organic farming, Gurdeep Singh Brar was an ordinary farmer who used to do the same thing that he saw while growing up all his childhood. He had only 2 acres of land on which he was farming and his income was only hand to mouth.

In 1995 he came in contact with the experts of Farmer Salahkar Seva Kendra. There he discussed all his farming related doubts with them and found out all the solutions and answers of it. He also get associated with the experts of KVK Bathinda branch. After sometime the experts of Farmer Salahkar Kendra motivated him to make a small kitchen garden in 1 canal of area by providing him a vegetable seed kit. When the kitchen garden idea went successful then he expanded the 1 canal area to 2 canal and started generating good produce of vegetables out of it.

In 1999, just after 4 years he came in touch with Ambuja Cement Foundation, he co-operated with them and visited many different farms…

Some of them are:
• Nabha Organic Farm
• Bhagat Puran Singh farm in Ganga Nagar.
• Organic Farm

This whole series of visit to different farms inspired him towards organic farming. And after that he also started growing seasonal fruits along with vegetables. He uses organic method for seed treatment, traps for pest control and also prepare organic manure. For seed treatment he uses Neem Water, Cow Urine (Gau Mutr), mixture of Lime Stone Water and Asafetida water mixture. He also uses Jivamrit (made by him at home) to make vegetable yield more healthy and chemical free. For pest attack prevention he uses sour buttermilk (Lassi made by him) in his fields. He is also very conscious towards the water management so for irrigation he uses drip irrigation system.

Gurdeep Singh has also established a vermi-compost unit at his farm so that he can provide pure organic manure to the vegetables and fruits. He has made two holes of 1 canal each, where he decomposes cow dung, buffalo dung, and poultry manure.

Along with farming he also prepares seed of pumpkin, bitter gourd and ridge gourd himself at home, which completely end his need of buying vegetable seeds from the market. To increase the quantity and quality if the pumpkin, he especially uses rope mesh to give pumpkin vines proper support.

Today his vegetable are so popular that people from Bathinda, Goniana Mandi and other nearby villages visit his farm especially to buy vegetables. When it comes to marketing the vegetables, then he is never dependent on any third person. He himself sell his produce by making 500 grams of packets and in current date he is earning good profit out of it.

For his farming techniques and methods he is awarded with many local awards and he also has membership of many farming societies and organization. In 2015, he received Surjit Singh Dhillon Award from PAU. Reaching up to this level for a man who never went to school, is really considerable. Currently he is living with his mother, wife and son in his village. His future plans is to continue organic farming and provide health and chemical free food to the community.

Message Given To Farmers:
“
 Today cancer like disease is spreading among the people is because of chemicals being used by the farmers. I’m not saying that farmers shouldn’t use fertilizer and pesticide, but they should reduce its use and switch to organic farming. In this way they can stop the soil and water pollution and can also prevent cancer like deadly diseases.
”
These are some of his inventions
pic1_en

Prem Raj Saini

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HOW A UTTAR PRADESH FARMER IS BLOOMING HIS BUSINESS WITH FLORICULTURE

Floriculture is a profitable livelihood choice and it is booming lives of many farmers across the country. One such farmer- Mr. Prem Raj Saini from Peer Nagar village of Uttar Pradesh is an emerging floriculturist and he is an ideal example for the rest of the farmers in our society.

Prem Raj’s father was the biggest inspiration behind Prem Raj being a floriculturist. It’s a matter of the seventies when his father used to bring different varieties of flower seeds from Delhi to grow it in their farm. He used to observe his father very closely and from that time only he wanted to do something related to flower farming. Although, Prem Raj Saini is a B.Sc graduate and he could have chosen a different occupation other than farming, but he chose to follow his dreams.

On 20th May 2007, his father got expired and just after that Prem Raj decided of starting what his father left in the middle. At that time the family was financially stable and his brothers were also settled. He started farming and his elder brother opened a wholesale flower shop through which they will be selling their farming produce. The other two younger brothers were doing jobs but later on, they also joined Prem Raj and elder brother in their venture.

One initiative taken by Prem Raj united the whole family into one thread. The eldest brother is managing two flower shop in Kanjipur Phul Mandi, Prem Raj himself manage the whole farm work, and the two younger brothers are managing the shops in Sabzi Mandi of Noida. In this way, they have divided all their work, resulting in increased income. They have kept only one permanent labour and they hire more when they need in the harvesting season.

Prem Raj farms every type of flowers and vegetables according to the season. For better yield, he is following Net house farming and Bed farming method. Moreover, for good quality of yield, he avoids the use of chemical and use pesticide very rarely when required. In this way, his expenses are also reduced to half. He use all the latest farming equipment like tractor and rotavator at his farm.

Future Plan-

Saini brothers are planning to establish more shops at the different location for better income. Their future plan is to expand their farming area and business.

Family-

Currently, he is living with his full-fledged complete family (Mother, Wife, two sons and one daughter) in his village. He is very open-minded and he never enforces his thinking on his children. With floriculture business and income, today, Prem Raj Saini and his brothers are supporting every need of their family.


Message
“Nowadays, there is job scarcity, because if there is one job vacancy then there are thousands of applicants to apply for it. So, if you have land, then it’s better to start farming and reap benefit from it. Take farming as your job rather than as a low profile occupation.”

Khushdeep Singh Bains

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HOW A 26-YEAR-OLD BOY DISCOVERED THE REAL JOY OF HIS LIFE IN VEGETABLE FARMING

India holds the second largest agricultural land in the world and its impact on Indian economy is huge. But still, today, if we ask the youngsters about their future plan, then very few, will be there who will say farming or agribusiness.

A 26-year-old boy from Harnampura, Ludhiana- Khushdeep Singh Bains, who after working for 2 years in two different companies decided to switch to farming, and today he is growing only vegetables in 28 acres of land.

Well, what made Khushdeep leave his good-earning comfortable job and start farming? It was Khushdeep’s interest towards agriculture.

Khushdeep Singh Bains comes from a family background where his father- Mr. Sukhwinder Singh, mainly used to do real estate work, and for home purpose wheat and paddy farming on a small scale. Khushdeep’s father always wanted his son to do a comfortable job where he will be given a chair and desk to work, he never thought of making his son work in the sun and soil. But when Khushdeep quit his job and started farming at that time his father was completely against his decision, because in his perception, farming is an occupation which needs huge labour and it is not a work that qualified and literate people should do.

But to change any negative opinion you just need a powerful positive result, and this is what Khushdeep came up with.

How it started…

When Khushdeep was working in Eastman at that time he used to prepare seedlings and this is when he was more attracted towards farming. After working for 1 year and 8 months he switched his job and started working with UPL Pesticides, but there also he only survived for 2-3 months. He was not satisfied with his work and he wanted to do something more. So, after working for 2 years in Eastman and UPL- Pesticide Company, Khushdeep decided of starting vegetable farming.

He started with pumpkin, ridge gourd and okra by planting it in half acre each, he used pesticides and the harvest was more than his imagination. Slowly he started expanding the farming area and vegetable types. He started growing every type of vegetable, whether it is in-season or out-of-season. He also signed the contract with Pagro Foods Ltd. for pea and sweetcorn farming and gained huge profit from them. Later on, in 2016, he planted paddy, beans, potato, onion, garlic, peas, capsicum, cauliflower, mung beans, and basmati turn wise on the same land.

Along with farming, Khushdeep also started preparing seeds and seedlings of garlic and many other crops and this side work benefited him a lot. From last three years, he is displaying his seed preparation work in PAU Ludhiana Kisan Mela and is getting an overwhelming response every time.

Today Khushdeep’s father and mother, both are proud of their son’s achievements. Khushdeep himself is very happy with his work and is also encouraging other farmers toward it. Currently, he is making a good profit from vegetable farming and his future plan is to start his own nursery and food processing business.

Message to farmers:
“Farmers shouldn’t be dependent on the third person for their marketing, they should do their work on their own. There is one more thing that farmers should keep in mind and that is they should never follow anything by seeing anyone, they should do what they feel from inside.
The farmer should also think about doing diversified farming and they should grow more than one crop because in case one crop gets damage then at least there is the second crop to support you. Consult one to two experts every time and after that start your new venture.”

Iqbal Singh

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FUTURISTIC FARMER ADOPTED A UNIQUE WAY TO MAKE A CHANGE IN THE FOOD CYCLE OF THE SOCIETY

Generally people know what faults there are in their work but they keep on doing it in the similar way, because others are also doing the same, and still they want to make a change in the society. But as said by Albert Einstein that-

“We can’t solve the problem by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them…”

So, if we want to make a change in the society we have to think different and do different. Iqbal Singh of Basarka Village (District Tarn Taran ) is a person who chose organic farming after completing his studies just to improve the food cycle and its bad effects on the people.

Iqbal Singh’s father used to do conventional farming earlier and after completing the studies (B.Com from PU) Iqbal also decided of starting farming along with his father. But when he noticed the deteriorating health of one of his relative then he realized that how badly our food system has been affected by the chemicals and pesticides use. At that time he understood that “our food cycle and water cycle has been poisoned and if we don’t take necessary steps towards our environment then our coming generation will get affected by it very badly.”

Iqbal decided of starting farming but in a different way. He stopped the use of chemicals and pesticides and slowly expanded the organic farming in his 16 acres of land. Today he is successfully earning good profit by farming all types of seasonal vegetables organically. He implements every type of tractor, trolley, plough device, disc, and rotavator. In the coming times he wants to start food processing and its marketing so that he can take better advantage of it and earn more profit.

Message to Farmers:
“If we don’t want our coming generation to face problems and diseases like cancer, skin allergy etc, then we have to turn towards organic. This is the right time, we can restore the damage that we have done to our environment, because any delay will cause serious impact on human’s health.”

 

Rajmohan Singh Kaleka

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Story of a Man Who Is Known For Raising Poison Free Crop in Punjab

Born in an agriculturist family, S. Rajmohan Singh Kaleka is a successful progressive farmer from village Bishanpur, Patiala. Without using any kind of chemicals and pesticides he is growing Wheat and paddy on 20 acres of land and is taking good productivity (35 quintals paddy and wheat 22 quintals per acre) out of it from more than a decade.

He is also against stubble burning and he never burns the remains of the crop (straws). His method of poison free farming and eco-friendly agriculture practices has recognized him as a role model for the other peasants of Punjab.

Other than this he is also a member of the production committee of District Patiala. He is always affiliated with terms like progressive farmers, scientists, officers and agricultural expert; this is a big acknowledgement that he has received. Many agricultural scientist and officers often pay visits to his farm for research and exploration.

Along with his job and crop farming, he is also actively involved in dairy farming; he has kept few cows of Sahiwal breed. Other than this he has also established a Bio-Gas plant at his farm. According to him, one of the reasons that lead him to this level of accomplishment is the advisories taken by him from the agricultural experts, KVK’s and IARI.

In the free time, Rajmohan Singh likes to read books related to agriculture, because doing this boost him towards natural farming.

His Awards & Achievements…

For his good work and initiative towards poison free farming he has been honoured and awarded by many prominent people:

• State Level Award

• National Award

• Dhaliwal Award from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana

• Awarded by Honourable Supreme Court Judge

• Awarded by Honourable Rajyapal of Punjab & Haryana

• Awarded by Agriculture Minister

Not only awards, Mr. Rajmohan has also received special letters of appreciation from various government officials which has made him more proud:

• Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Agriculture, Punjab

• Director of Agriculture Punjab

• Deputy Commissioner Patiala

• Chief Agriculture Officer, Patiala

• Joint Director, IARI

Message:
“Farmers should take step towards poison less farming because this is the only way to sustain a better life and they should also make earth a habitable place for the future generation. Today farmer should understand the current need and look for more meaningful and sustainable ways of pursuing agriculture instead of fulfilling their monetary needs.”

 

Gurpreet Shergill

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Man Bringing Flower-Farming Renaissance in Punjab

In the recent years, floriculture has emerged as a rising agri-business in India and 20% annual growth in exports has been observed in the floriculture industry. This is a good insignia representing the development of agri-sector in India which is only possible due to the contribution of some hardworking revolutionary countrymen.

1996 was the year when the man behind the Punjab Flower Farming Renaissance- Gurpreet Singh Shergill, took his first step towards floriculture, and today he is well-recognized floriculturist associated with many prestigious government bodies.

Gurpreet Singh Shergill – “After completing my degree in 1993 in Mechanical Engineering, I was confused about my career choice. I always wanted to do a work which makes me happy and gives me recognition, not that work which gives my worldly pleasures.”

Gurpreet Singh Shergill chose the farming field and along with that he also started dairy farming as his full-time profession. He never felt satisfied with his work, which made him work harder and think deeper. That was when he realized that he is not here to fall into the trap of wheat-paddy cycle and it took 3 years to understand this. Flowers always fascinated him, so with the expert advice of his father – Baldev Singh Shergill and support of his brother – Karanjit Singh Shergill, he decided to give floriculture a try. Marigold was the first successful yield that he got in that season.

After that nothing stopped him from achieving what he wanted…One main person to whom Gurpreet Singh Shergill gives the major credit, apart from father and brother is his wife, she is the main supporting pillar throughout his farming venture.

Marigold harvest was followed by Gladiolus, Gulzafri, Rose, Statice and Gypsophila harvests. This is how he turned into someone from a regular farmer.

Some stats about his foreign trips

In 2002, his quest for knowledge and know-how, took him Holland, where he attended Floriade (International Flower Exhibition organized after every 10 years).

He also visited world’s largest auction centre for fresh flowers in Aalsmeer, Holland.

In 2003, he also attended World Rose Convention in Glasgow, UK.

How he diversified his farming activities…

With his flourishing floriculture work, he established Vermicompost plant and added fishery in his farming practices.

Vermicompost plant is supporting him dually- he is using the compost in his field as well also selling it in the market.

He has also created his product line which includes Rose Water, Rose Sharbat, Aloe-Vera and Amla Juice. Compost and Rosewater are sold under the brand name “Balson”, and Rose Sharbat, Aloe Vera and Amla Juice under the brand name of “Shergill Farm Fresh”.

With his sheer hard work and dedication, he transformed his passion for agriculture into a successful business.

Many agriculture-related government bodies soon recognized his efforts and awarded him with multiple awards… some of the prominent awards are:

• Punjab Chief Minister Award, 2011 by PAU, Ludhiana

• Jagjivan Ram Innovative Farmer Award, 2012 by ICAR, New Delhi

• N.G. Ranga Farmer Award, 2014 by ICAR, New Delhi

• Innovative Farmer Award, 2015 by IARI, New Delhi

• Nominated for Member of National Advisory Panel (NAP) for Farmer’s FIRST Programme, 2016 by IARI, New Delhi

Even after, accomplishing so much, Gurpreet Singh Shergill never brags about his achievements. He is a very clear-head person who always seeks different information sources to grab knowledge and relate it to his farming practices. In the pastime, he likes to read agriculture magazines like Modern Kheti, Floriculture Today, Kheti Dunia etc. He is also an active participant in agriculture fairs and events. He believes in sharing the knowledge and he never let down any farmer who come for help. To help the farmer community, he is playing a major role as an Apni Kheti expert by contributing his knowledge.

Gurpreet Shergill has shown that if one is dedicated and hardworking, one can achieve success. And in today’s time when farmers are reeling with losses and debts and committing suicides, he stands as a torchbearer for the entire agricultural community by demonstrating that diversification is the need of the hour as well as the path to a better future for the agricultural community.

To know more about his diversified agriculture business visit his website.

Sardar Gurmail Singh

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How Gurmail Singh Made Modern Techniques His Tool to Earn Profit Out Of Vegetable Farming

Gurmail Singh is another progressive farmer from Uchagaon village of Patiala, Punjab. Despite having less land, he is reaping great profit out of it from the last 23 years by doing vegetable cultivation. He has around 17.5 acres of land out of which 11 acres he owns and has taken 6.5 acres on the contract basis.

Modern farming techniques like drip irrigation, spray irrigation, and laser leveller are some of his power tools which help him to do efficient farming and water conservation. And when it comes to pesticides usage, then he is very smart. He uses pesticides only on the recommendation of Punjab Agriculture University. Mostly he tries to use green natural manure in his fields for better yield.

The other modern technique which he is using adeptly is the light tunnel in 6 acres to grow vegetables. And some of the crops that he especially grows every season are rice, wheat, clover, cabbage, melon, tomato, eggplant, cucumber, peas and bitter gourd. To give a powerful boost to his farming venture he also took training for the preparation of hybrid seeds soy operations and other allied activities like beekeeping and dairy farming etc., from Agriculture Science Centre, Patiala.

Marketing
His vast year of experience not only includes growing different crops advantageously but he also enhanced his marketing skills, and today he has his own sales outlet at “Atma Kisan Hut (Patiala)”. Quality of his processed produce has increased his sales day by day. He has also established a soy plant under the brand name “Smart” in 2012 and under this plant, he processes and sells products such as soy milk, cheese, flour, and nuts.

Achievements
He is an inspiration for the other farmers and soon he will be honoured with the CRI Pumps Award.

Message
“Farmers should use less pesticides and chemicals in their field if they want to live a healthy life and reap good yield out of their land in the present as well as in the future.”

 

Kanta Desta

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THIS WOMAN FARMER REALIZED HOW SHE IS SPREADING DISEASES TO THE PEOPLE, BY DOING CHEMICAL FARMING AND MADE WISE DECISION BY SWITCHING TO ORGANIC

It is said that we should always be thankful to farmers because if you ate today something, it just because of a farmer’s hard work and the sweat that he sheds in the fields. But what if the farmer himself becomes the diseases distributor instead of food!

Today, chemical farming has become a trend to boost the agricultural yield. Agriculture has more become a business rather than fulfilling the basic food necessity. Producers and consumers of food, both have forgotten the basic purpose of farming.

In this situation, a well-said line by a famous agriculturalist- Masanobu Fukuoka explains the true purpose of farming-

“The ultimate goal of farming is not growing crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”

By going through the same situation, a woman- Kanta Desta, realized that how she has become a disease distributor and then she made the wisest decision of her life by switching to organic farming.

Kanta Desta from Samala Village was a common farmer who use to grow vegetable and fruit and many time she used to distribute it among her relatives, neighbours and friends. But one day, she came to know about the harmful effects of crops grown by using chemical fertilizers and pesticides and then she felt very bad. From that day, she decided that she will stop using chemicals and will adopt organic farming.

To make her step towards organic farming more effective she joined a program which was being run by Morarka Foundation and the Agriculture Department in 2004. She started growing many types of fruits, vegetables, grains and spices like apples, pears, Plum, peach, Japanese Apricot, kiwi fruit, nuts, peas, beans, eggplant, cabbage, radish, coriander, red pepper, onion, wheat, maize, urad, barley, beans and Baladi crops are also grown.

Her switch to organic farming positively affected her income and it was increased to 4 to 5 lakhs annually. Not only this, but with the help of Morarka Foundation, Kanta Desta created a group of women in her village and provided them with knowledge about Organic Farming, and also got them registered under the same foundation.

“I believe that providing knowledge to people in a group is better because it costs less and we can impart knowledge to more people at a time.”

Today her name come across the list of successful organic farmers. She has 31 bighas irrigated land through which she is being productive and is earning the profit in lakhs. Later she also visited NONI University, Delhi, Jaipur and Banglore to get more information about Organic Farming. And for her fervent effort, she has been honoured twice with state honours by the Himachal Pradesh Government. Other than this she has been awarded as the Best Farmer Award in Shimla on 15 August 2008 and she also got appreciated and awarded for her contribution in the field of organic farming on 13th June 2013.

Despite getting so much appreciation on a huge level, this woman never takes the whole credit to herself and she believes that all the credit for her success goes to Morarka Foundation and the Department of Agriculture who guided her on the right path.

Other than farming, Kanta also rears 2 cows and 3 buffaloes and use their dung and farm residue in small vermicomposting plant established in the area of 30x8x10 at her farm. She also use herbal spray aperture wash, jivamrit and NSDL in the place of pesticides, to improve the land conditions and reduce the expenses.

Now, Kanta feels happy and privileged while distributing vegetables and fruits among her relatives and friends, because she knows that what she is growing and giving to her closed ones is free of harmful chemicals and they will stay healthy by eating this.

Message
“Organic Farming is very important to if we want to keep our environment clean.”

Hartej Singh Mehta

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Hartej Singh Mehta- Laying Foundation For Better Future By Inspiring Others To Pursue Organic Farming

Earlier organic was a term which was very rarely used or practiced. There were very few farmers who use to do organic farming and that also for the home purpose. But with the time, people recognized that every shining vegetable or fruit looks good but is not good for health.

This is the story of a farmer – Hartej Singh Mehta, who took a wise decision 10 years back and is very grateful for it. For Hartej Singh Mehta continuing organic farming was the best decision he ever took in his life. And today he is the renowned personality for organic farming in his area (Mehta Village- Bathinda).

As being from the Malwa region of Punjab, where farmers use pesticides and chemicals at a very high rate to get good productivity, Hartej Singh Mehta chose to maintain harmony with nature. He is very dedicated towards his hereditary occupations from his childhood and for him living a simple life is more important than bragging about his achievements.

Despite being highly qualified (MA Punjabi, MA Political Science), he chose to pursue organic farming instead of running behind the city life and govt. job. Currently, he has 11 acres of land in which he grows Cotton, Wheat, Mustard, Sugarcane, Lentil, Spinach, Fenugreek, Carrot, Radish, Onions, Garlic and almost all the vegetables. He always prefers to prepare his fields by following natural ways which work well for cotton (F 1378), wheat (1482) and Bansi named seeds.

“Reasons like dissatisfaction, illiteracy, and desire of higher productivity of the farmers lead them to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, due to which, farmers who are known as the Savior are now serving toxin in the society.Nowadays farmers use pesticides and chemicals for pest management which harms the good worms and fertility of the soil. They are not aware that by using chemicals in their farm they are ultimately poisoning the whole food chain. Moreover, by using chemicals and pesticides they are not only worsening the environmental conditions but also facing major economic loss due to increasing debt.”  – Said by Hartej Singh Mehta

Mr. Mehta always practices natural method and whenever he needs information related to natural farming he refers Pingalwara Society, Amritsar and Agricultural Heritage Mission. He generally uses cow urine and animal dung for preparing fertilizer, as this is good for the soil and is also very economical.

According to Mr. Mehta, consuming naturally grown food has kept him and his family perfectly healthy and away from diseases. Due to this reason also Mr. Mehta feels inspired towards organic farming and in future also he will continue doing it.

Message
“I want to give the same message to the farmers across the country that we should come out of the shackles of private companies and should pledge to make healthy society by serving them healthy food.”

Avtar Singh Ratol

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53 Old Year Farmer Scaling New Heights and Harvesting Double Profit in the Field Of Horticulture

Agriculture is not just cows and plows…its more than that!

Today agriculture field has many new things to do, about which normal city people are not aware of. From planting improved variety of seeds to implementing new enhanced farming techniques and implements, farming is not less than any rocket science. And very few farmers are there who understands that changing farming practices with the changing time can help them alleviate the future risks. One such a farmer from Sarod village of Sangrur district who understood the fact of changing with the time very well is S. Avtar Singh Ratol.

32 is a great number of experience for a farmer, and S. Avtar Singh Ratol has used it well in shaping his horticulture career in the right direction. He started cultivating vegetables in 50 acres in the beginning and slowly expanded his farming reach to a greater area. For better irrigation he implanted underground pipeline in 47 acres which benefited him a lot in the future.

To boost up his farming productivity, he took training from Agriculture Science Centre and Farm Advisory Service Centre in Sangrur. From the knowledge that he gained during his training, he built two high-tech poly-houses in 4000 square feet and started cultivating cucumber and gerbera flower in it. Currently, his annual income from the cultivation of cucumber and gerbera is around 7.5 lakh rupees which are more than enough to manage his farming inputs.

Horticulture became S. Avtar Singh Ratol’s full-time passion and to give a kick to his arousing interest he went abroad to learn advance horticulture techniques. Abroad visit had positive results on the farm productivity and S. Avtar Singh Ratol achieved huge success in the crop cultivation of potatoes, pepper, melon, capsicum, wheat, etc. Besides this, he also started preparing the vegetable nursery and selling it to other farmers.

Counting on his achievements…

Adopting drip irrigation to save water, developing a small Trans-Planter to plant the vegetable sapling and perform many other tasks and using low tunnel technique, are some of his achievements which helped him doing successful cultivation of capsicum and many other vegetables. He faced no difficulty in implementing all these modern farming techniques at his farm, which encouraged him to progress more.

Awards
• Awarded with “S Dalip Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award”.
• Awarded by “Chief Minister Award” for his success in horticulture.
Message
“Horticulture is a profitable field with lots of new farming methods and cost-effective techniques that farmer must try to give a great boost to his income.”