Tag: Barnala

Avtar Singh

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AFTER SWITCHING MULTIPLE PROFESSIONS, THIS FARMER FOUND PIG FARMING THE RIGHT OCCUPATION FOR HIMSELF!

Changing occupation is never easy, as it can negatively impact the lives of people who are dependent on it, especially the family members, and when this matter is concerned with a farmer’s life then the insecurity factor is just double. A new opportunity comes with both risks and benefits, the person just has to understand that what satisfies him and his needs better, because finding a meaningful work is very important. One such a farmer from Barnala District of Punjab, Mr. Avtar Singh Randhawa also changed multiple occupations and found pig farming as the right profession for himself.

Like other farmers, Avtar Singh also started wheat and paddy farming, just after completing his studies (10th) along with his father Basant Singh Randhawa. But soon he realized that his life is not meant to follow this tradition of conventional farming. So, he thought of investing in the grocery store business. He opened a shop in his village- Channa Gulab Singh, but after some time, he found out that he is not even satisfied with this profession. Someone suggested him about mushroom farming and he started that too, but he understood that it needs much investment and this venture also ended empty handed. At last, he heard from a person that pig farming is a profitable occupation and he thought that why not give it a try.

After discussing with the concerned person, Avtar joined the training conducted by PAU (Punjab Agriculture University) for Pig Farming and Pig Products Processing. In the beginning, he started with 3 pigs, and after three years of hard work, today, the count of pigs has increased to 50. When he started pig farming 3 years back, many villagers use to talk about him and his occupation. As Avtar Singh was the first one who started pig farming in his villages, so many villagers were confused and many were just analyzing that what will be the outcome of this. But after seeing the happy face and increasing profit of the Randhawa family, many villagers came up with their interest in pig farming.

“When I told my wife about the pig farming business, she was against me and she doesn’t want me to invest in it. Even my relatives also used to scold me about my work, because in their perception I was doing a low-grade work. But I was determined and this time I didn’t want to turn back and leave something in the middle.”

Today, Avtar is very happy and satisfied with his work and he also encourages other farmers of his village towards this profession. He manages the breeding work himself in his farm. Within 7-8 months he sells 80 pigs on an average and is earning good profit from it.

Currently, he is living with his son and wife, and even with this small family and little needs he used to grow paddy and wheat on his own, for home purpose. Now his wife also supports him in pig farming.

Like Avtar, there are many other farmers in Punjab who are into pig farming business and are making it a big project in the coming time. With the growing demand of pork and pig products, pig farming is going to be a booming venture in the future. Some futuristic farmers have already understood it and Avtar Singh Randhawa is one of them.

Future Plan:

Avtar is planning to make use of his training and start processing pig products. He wants to expand the Randhawa Piggery Farm to a larger extent in the future.

Message:
“With modernization, many new farming techniques and trends are coming and the farmers should be aware of it. The farmers should follow a path in which they believe, not the path that others are following.”

Nirmal Singh

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HOW PIG FARMING HAS CHANGED THE LIFE OF NIRMAL SINGH AND IS LEADING HIM IN THE DIRECTION OF PROSPERITY

In India, pigs might not be rampant pets in the households, but they are sure moneymaker when it comes to pig farming. And one of the best thing with this occupation is that you can start with little capital.

In Punjab, pig farming is booming as a popular occupation among the farmers and many people are showing interest in it. Although many people still view piggery as a low profile occupation, but now it doesn’t matter at all. Because piggery has totally changed the perspective and life of farmers in Punjab. One such a farmer who is successfully practicing piggery and generating good revenue from it is Nirmal Singh.

From the times of grandfather and great-grandfather, Nirmal Singh’s family was involved in agriculture, for them, there was no alternative occupation to earn money. But when Nirmal Singh grew up and took everything in his hand after completing his studies (12th standard), then he started dairy farming along with wheat and paddy farming. For about one and half year he did dairy farming for commercial purpose, but in December 2015, when he visited one of his friend’s marriage in Bathinda, then he came to know about pig farming. He was excited to know about it, so after the marriage, next day he visited the farm named as BT Piggery situated in Sanghera. After his visit to the pig farm, he was interested to adopt this occupation.

Before starting the piggery venture he thought of taking an expert advice and training from the experienced person, so he especially attended 5 days training given by GADVASU (Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University), Ludhiana. After taking training he started pig farming with 10 female pigs and 1 male pig. He established the piggery farm on 2 kanals area.

With increasing value of pig farming, his venture went well and today he has around 90 pigs at his farm, out of which 10 female pigs and 1 male pig that he bought in the beginning for reproduction are the same. In a month he sells around 10-12 pigs at the cost of 150 Rs/Kg for female pigs and 85 Rs/Kg for male pigs. His brother and son help him in his venture and he has kept no other worker for help. To maintain the healthy pigs, he prefers to make pig’s feed on his own; he buys the raw material from the market and processes it himself.

Today, Nirmal Singh is counted as one of the members of Progressive Pig Farmers Association, GADVASU. He also received first award, certificate and cash prize at district level in Pashudhan Championship which was held at Shri Muktsar Sahib.

Currently, he is living with his wife, a son and a daughter in his village Lubanian Wali village in Muktsar. His future plan is to expand his pig farm and start pig products processing. He also helps other farmers and recommends them this profession for better income.

Message:
“Before starting anything, training is very much important. Every farmer must take training to improve their skills, otherwise, there is a huge risk even in a simple task.”

If you are also thinking about starting pig farming business in Punjab, then this is the right time for you. Contact Apni Kheti for information regarding pig training, pig breeding or pig farming.

Harbant Singh

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Father-Son Duo Moving Towards Organic Farming By Making Internet their Research Weapon

Farming is one of the most important ingredients of human civilization and with the advancement in technology and living, farming has also been transformed over the years. But still, many farmers in India are stuck to the conventional farming method. But one such farmer or we can say a pair of a father-son duo who made the internet as their research weapon to progress in the field of farming are Harbant Singh (father) and Satnam Singh (son).

Like other farmers, Harbant Singh was also into conventional farming until his son came up with the idea of orchard farming organically. Yes, it was Satnam Singh who after his 1 year of research, approached his father to start dragon fruit farming.

It all started just one year ago when Satnam Singh came in contact with a person (Vishal Doda) in Gujarat through one of his friends. Vishal Doda is doing dragon fruit farming in 15 acres of area. Satnam Singh researched everything about dragon fruit plant and discussed it with his father. And when Harbant Singh came to know about dragon fruit farming and its benefits, he very happily encouraged his son to start it, no matter how much investment they have to do. Soon they visited Gujarat, bought dragon fruit plants and took some guidance from Vishal Doda about its farming.

Today, this father-son duo is the first one who started dragon fruit farming in Punjab and now the plant has started bearing fruits also. They have planted 500 seedlings of dragon fruits in one and a half bigha of land. One plant gives 4-20 kg of fruit in 4 years. They especially cast and prepared a cement structure with a wheel mounted on the pillar to support this plant. Whenever they need help related to dragon fruit farming either they search the internet or they consult Vishal Doda.

Well, dragon fruit farming is not the only thing that they are doing, they have also planted Sandalwood seedling on their farm. The idea of planting sandalwood came when Satnam was watching a news channel where he came to know that a minister gifted a sandalwood tree trunk in a temple that was worth in lakhs. At that time, the thing that struck his mind was to make the future secure and more profitable in both the terms- environmentally and financially. So he invested in sandalwood farming in July 2016 and planted 200 seedlings in 6 canal area.

Both father and son are very actively involved in the farming and are well aware of the plant characteristics. They know that sandalwood is a hemiparasite plant, so they have planted split red gram seedlings, lemon plants and cauliflower along with sandalwood. They are doing diversified farming so that they can generate profit both in present and future also.

According to Harbant Singh, the farming pattern that they are following is preparing them for the future. Because both dragon fruit and sandalwood need less water (can also be irrigated through rain water only) and don’t need any special type of manure or fertilizer. Moreover, they are well aware of the fact that in the coming time paddy and wheat farming will get disappear from Punjab because of the depleting level of ground water. And orchard farming will become the need of the coming time.

Harbant Singh is strictly following organic methods for dragon farming and sandalwood farming and slowly with the time, he will reduce the chemical use in his other crops also. The thing that encouraged Harbant Singh and his son towards organic farming is the increasing diseases and ailments in the society. They want to make the environment healthy and liveable for the future generations, as their ancestors left the atmosphere for them. There is one more reason that Satnam Singh chose organic farming after completing his engineering and that is his interest in farming from the beginning.

Today Satnam Singh is making full effort in helping his father in farming with mechanized ways. They prepare jivamrit and manure at home by using cow dung and Gau Mutr (cow urine). They avoid using pesticides and fertilizers. Harbant Singh is also working on water management in his village and is teaching other villagers about it, so that, they use less tube well water. He himself has only one tube well for 12 acres of land. Other than usual crops he also has guava, banana, mango and peach tree at his farm.

Satnam especially did one year of research before starting sandalwood and dragon fruit farming because he wanted to invest in a crop that needs less irrigation and has a plethora of health and environmental benefits. He wants other farmers to do the same and adopt a farming crop that is eco-friendly and has various benefits also.

Future Plans
His future plan is to grow garlic and mahogany tree. He wants other farmers to recognize the potential and start investing in it for their better future.

Message to farmers
“Harbant Singh and his son both want other farmers to start organic farming and save the environment for the future generation, only then they can survive and make earth a better living place.”