Captain Lalit

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HOW A MAN REALIZED HIS TRUE CALLING AND CHOSE HORTICULTURE AS HIS RETIREMENT PLAN

Growing pomegranate on the dry sandy land of Rajasthan, sound like a funny, fruitless, idea but with strong determination, perseverance, and high-density farming technology, Captain Lalit has made it possible.

After mastering many fields and pursuing many careers in his life, at last, Captain Lalit chose horticulture as his retirement plan and came back to his native place- 11 Eea in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. Well, for many city-living-people, farming is not a good retirement plan, but Mr Lalit realized his true calling and thought of giving a chance to the very noble and basic profession of farming.

Earlier Life-

Mr Lalit was an active and enthusiastic man from the beginning, He started his professional career since he was studying in the college. After completing his graduation, he also obtained the license of a commercial pilot and pursued the profession of a pilot. Well, this is not all that he did. There was an era when computer education was just introduced in India everywhere, so by not missing the opportunity, he started a new venture and opened a computer education centre in Jaipur city. Soon after some time he also qualified the Oracle test and became an Oracle certified computer trainer. His computer education centre business went well for some years, but as the computer craze came down he had to wrap up his business because it wasn’t generating enough profit.

From his career choices, it was clear that from the beginning he was interested in choosing a unique profession which includes something new, whether it’s about the trend, technology or thing. And the next thing that he started was farming English vegetables and flowers for commercial purpose by taking a small piece of land on rent in Jaipur city, and many big five star hotels purchased his produce from him.

“When I was growing English vegetables like thyme, baby corn, broccoli, lettuce etc., at that time the localities use to make fun of me because for them these English vegetables were new. And they were amazed to see the smaller version of corn and greener version of cauliflower. But today they are eating those vegetables in pizza, burger, and salad.”

When the idea came into existence-

When he was farming English vegetables, during that time he realized that farming is the best investment and he should start it on a large scale. As he already had an ancestral property (12 bighas land) in his native place, so he decided to start Kinnow Farming on it. He came to his village with the idea of starting kinnow farming, but after discussing with many farmers he realized that everyone is doing the same and he should do something different.

And this was the time when his research on different fruit started and he visited many different farms in different cities. From his research, he made out a conclusion of growing an elite fruit and a common fruit. He consulted CISH (Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow) and decided to start pomegranate and guava farming in 2015. He grew pomegranate (sindoori variety) on 6 Bigha and Guava on the other 6 Bigha. Made mobile and the internet his book and teacher for research and help.

“In the beginning, I also consulted Rajasthan Agriculture University but they said that pomegranate farming is not possible in Rajasthan and they made fun of me.”

Farming Methods & Technology-
He followed high-density farming technology for pomegranate to generate high quality and good quantity produce. In this farming technology, he followed canopy management and planted 7 pomegranate plants in 20 m x 20 m area. By doing this, 1 plant is gives 20 kg fruit in a season and 7 plants gives 140 kg. In this way, he has planted more trees in less area and will generate good profit from it in the future. Moreover, due to high-density farming, trees height and width are less, due to which fewer labours are needed to maintain the whole farm.

Captain Lalit is much mechanized with his farming methods. For better yield and effective results, he has customized a tank-cum-machine with an attached mud pump, inside which he has installed a shaft to rotate and spread the slurry and jivamrit in the farm easily. To move the tank around the farm he uses a small tractor. When it comes to being economical then he prepares all the manure, fish amino acid fertilizer, bacteria and fungus for his whole farm himself, by buying just a bottle of NPK Bio-fertilizer from the market. He multiplies the bio-cultures by preparing the spray.

He has also adopted two cows of Rathi breed, which were roaming free on the road and now he is utilizing those cows for making jivamrit and manure. One of the important thing that he uses in the manure is “Agnihotr bhabhooti”- ashes obtained by offering prayers to God in front of the fire.

“The reason I am using Agnihotr Bhabhooti is that it helps in purifying the environment and it is a way of Adhyatmik Kheti. Adhyatmik means spiritual, a way of farming which is related to God.”

He has also built up a water reservoir in 50 m x 50 m area to save rain water and irrigate his farm with it. Earlier his farm was totally Eco-friendly because he was using solar electricity to manage everything. But now he is getting electricity from the government.

Role of Government-

His whole project of Pomegranate and Guava farming has been approved by the National Horticulture Board, and he gets the subsidy from them.

Achievements-
His farming effort is appreciated by many people. The university which made fun of him now invite him as the guest in their events and also consults him for high-density farming and pruning techniques.

Current Scenario-

Today he has 5000 plants in 12 Bigha of area and the age of the plants is 2 year and 4 months. By following high-density farming, pomegranate trees has already started bearing the fruit, but he is expecting the real commercial yield next year.

“During my research, I also visited some south Indian States and High Density Farming is already being done there. Farmers in North India should also follow this technique because it is very beneficial, in all the aspects.”

Before starting all this, he had the theoretical knowledge about high-density farming but he lacked the practical experience, but slowly with the time, he is gaining that too. He has 2 workers and with the help of them, he manages his farm.

His Views-

When a farmer starts farming he should start investing like an industry, then only he can gain profit. Moreover, today every farmer needs to be mechanized if they want to be efficient in farming.

Message to farmers-

Until farmers don’t stop practicing conventional farming they cannot become empowered and independent. Especially those farmers who have less land, have to take initiative themselves and they should invest in horticulture. They should just follow the right direction.

Raja Ram Jakhar

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The Futuristic Farmer of Rajasthan Bringing Changing Tides in Conventional Farming Trend with Aloe Vera Farming

Even today also Rajasthan is known for its conventional farming methods, and the main crops that are grown there are Bajara, Guar, and Sorghum. Many farmers are progressing but still, many farmers are there who just don’t want to come out of their stereotypical conventional farming trend. One such a person who is trying to do something out of the box and bring a changing tide in agriculture field is Raja Ram Jakhar.

Born and brought up on the land of Rajasthan, Raja Ram Jakhar is a B.Sc. Agriculture Graduate who left his government job just to pursue his passion towards farming. He learned to take advantage of the opportunity and gain profit from it. And today he is a successful aloe-vera farmer in Rajasthan, who is not dependent on anyone for marketing because his produce is sold to the consumers from his farm only.

Rajaram Jakhar’s family was associated with agriculture from the beginning. And all his childhood, he had seen all his family members doing farming only. But after completing his B.Sc. Agriculture degree from the DAV College of Sangaria, Rajasthan in 1980, he got a chance to pursue a different profession (Supervisor at Central State Farm, Suratgarh). However, he wasn’t able to work there more than 3-4 months, because it doesn’t interest him and he chose to come back and continue his ancestral occupation, farming.

He started farming in the same way his ancestors were doing and there was no major profit that he achieved. Slowly it was getting difficult for him to manage his family livelihood, they were just living from hand to mouth. But then he heard about Patanjali brand and its aloe vera products, and to manufacture those products Patanjali needs aloe-vera produce in bulk. So he took advantage of this opportunity and started aloe-vera farming by making minimum Rs. 15000 of investment in 1 bigha of variety “Babie Densis”.

During all this, once his family also went against his decision of aloe-vera farming, because they were unsure of what he was doing, and at that time he was the first one to start aloe-vera farming in his area (Ganganagar District). But he never changed his mind, because he was confident of himself. After one year, when finally aloe-vera plants were ready, few buyers contacted him for buying his produce, and since then he is selling his produce without making any extra effort from his farm only and is earning 1 Lakh from 1 Bigha in 1 Year.

As there are many factories in Rajasthan for Aloe-Vera processing, so every after 50 days two trucks are sent to his farm by the buyers to purchase his produce and he just has to load the produce in the truck with the help of the workers. Now he has started inter-cropping and has planted moringa tree in the aloe-vera field to take advantage in a better way.

Currently, he is living happily with his family (wife, three daughters and one son) and is managing the whole farm on his own. He has one tube well and tractor for framing. He strictly follows organic farming in his farm for aloe-vera, moringa, and cotton. Along with aloe-vera, moringa and cotton he has also planted vegetables like okra, ridge gourd, cucumber, bottle gourd, guar beans and other seasonal vegetables for home use.

Rajaram Jakhar chose Moringa for inter-cropping because of its medicinal properties and it is easy to grow with little care. Now he has also started selling plants and giving free training to farmers who want to start aloe-vera farming. Rajaram Jakhar with his futuristic views is trying to bring a new revolution in the agriculture field. Till now he has taken no help from government or any other source, he has done everything on his own. His upcoming plans are to expand his work and make more farmers aware to start aloe-vera farming.

MESSAGE TO FARMERS
Before starting any new thing, a farmer should search the market first and then start farming. There are many opportunities from which farmers can take advantage and they should never miss that.”

Hind Pal Singh

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Meet Rajasthan’s Jojoba Farmer Who Hold Hotel Management Degree from IHM Pusa Delhi, But He Chose to Follow His Father’s Footsteps

Farming has never been and never will be an easy life, but for many people who don’t have any option for them farming is the only choice. That’s why today most of the farmers send their kids to school and college so that they can choose whatever they want and become whatever they want. But one such person who even had a good job opportunity, but then also he chose to farm is Hind Pal Singh Aulakh.

Hind Pal Singh was born in a typical farming family of Rajasthan (Ganganagar District), but was grown up in a very different modern environment; with the motive of pursuing different profession than his father, he pursued Bachelors in Hotel Management from IHM PUSA, Delhi.

“But maybe Hind Pal Singh wasn’t destined to continue his career in the same field. His father was a farmer and was very much interested in farming. His father inspired and motivated him to start farming.”

After seeing so much passion of his father towards farming, he decided to help him. He also started reading agriculture related magazines like Changi Kehti etc. In one of the magazines, he read about Jojoba Farming and thought of giving it a try. He visited Jaipur and took training from there in Jojoba Farming. Mr. Saini was a faculty member of the training staff who helped and guided him in jojoba farming and especially visited his farm in his hometown also.

In the beginning, Hind Pal Singh was a little scared before starting Jojoba Farming, but now it’s been 12 years since he is doing jojoba farming and he is very happy with the yield and returns. He bought the Jojoba seedlings from Rajasthan Agriculture University because jojoba plants need to be planted in 10:1 ratio, where 10 is for female jojoba plants and 1 is for male jojoba plant. And only a proper agriculture university or expert can help in providing the right jojoba plants because common people cannot identify the male and female plants in seedling until they start flowering (can take up to three years).

“The female plants produce seed from flowers pollinated by the male plants, female plant is dependent on male plants for seed production.”

Planting and farming jojoba was not that easy for Hind Pal Singh. He faced many problems like termite and fungus, but he dealt with it very smartly. He always consulted an expert and used micro food and basic fertilizers for farming. From the year of the plantation, it starts bearing fruits in 6th and 7th year.

“One Time Investment: Jojoba farming is the best thing to do in an area like Rajasthan where there is water scarcity because it needs very less water for irrigation (can survive without water for two years), moreover the plant age is up to 100 years.”

In the beginning inter-cropping can also be done when the jojoba plants are small because they don’t start bearing seeds properly up to 6th to 7th years. He faced few difficulties in marketing the produce, but he took no help from the government. As Cosmetics Company need jojoba seeds in for making face cream, oil, face wash and many more beauty products, so soon he found his consumer and started earning good profit.

“Jojoba Oil also has an alternate use as a fuel oil because of its viscosity index. It can be used as transformer oil or as a lubricant for high-speed machinery or machines operating at high temperature.”

Other than jojoba farming which he is doing in approx. 5 acres, he is also growing cotton, wheat, seasonal veggies, mustard, kinnow and other crops in the rest 65 acres of land. He implements all the modern farming machinery like tractor, trolley, cultivator, leveller, disc harrow and drip irrigation system for better farming. His future plan is to expand what he is doing right now and attract more loyal and profitable consumers of jojoba seeds. With a minor 45 thousand of investment today he is earning in lakhs. Moreover, jojoba is a disease free and fire resistant plant which needs very less care once the plant is fully grown.

Message to Farmers
“Farmers have to become independent and start thinking differently if they want to earn profit from farming. One more thing that farmers have to do is to keep track of their accounts and give their hundred percent if they have started something.

Navroop Singh

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Journey of an Engineer Turned Farmer,  Reaping Food Out Of Desert by Keeping Harmony with Nature

“With wrong farming methods, we turn fertile land into desert. Unless we go back to organic farming and save the soil, there is no future.” – Jaggi Vasudev

The soil is a wealth of living beings, and out of all the living beings, only human is capable of making changes or affecting the most precious asset of nature.

Very true said by Jaggi Vasudev that by practicing wrong farming method we are turning our fertile land into desert. But here we are going to share the story of a man- Navroop Singh Gill, who is reaping food naturally out of the desert to make soil more fertile and natural resources less poisonous.

Farming is a pursuit with which human race is blessed, and practicing it in harmony with nature can bring the treasure of wellness to the people. Navroop Singh Gill understood this fact very well, long ago and for the betterment of people and Mother Nature he decided to turn towards natural farming.

Navroop Singh Gill was doing pretty well in abroad, but then one day he decided to come back to India and help his elder brother Navdeep Singh Gill in his farming venture. Soon as he started connecting himself with the real-life issues, a sudden wave of determination and spiritual enlightenment struck him and transformed him into a new individual.

“My family was not into the farming field from the beginning. My father- Kamaljeet Singh Gill, was a businessman and he owned cotton spinning and weaving mill till 1998, but due to some financial losses and circumstantial conditions he has to shut down his mill. At that time we never thought that this unfortunate ending will lead us to a beautiful beginning…Later my father started farming (conventionally) and my elder brother also joined him after completing his studies. I joined them in 2010. ”

Earlier, Navdeep Singh Gill was doing natural farming, but not on large scale. With the support of younger brother (Navroop Singh), Navdeep expanded the farming horizon step by step. Every penny saved was a step towards expanding the natural farming practices.

Another field towards which Navroop Singh Gill was allured was dairy farming, it was his love for cows, because of which he started rearing cattle also. He started dairy farming with few cows in the beginning and slowly increased the number of animals in the farm.

In 2013, the idea of “Thar Naturals” came into the mind of both brothers, and then they decided to do everything naturally – from land preparation to harvesting. As a result, crop yield increased and it was far much better as compared to other farmers using chemicals and pesticides in their fields. Steadily Thar Natural became a renowned brand and Gill brothers added more crops in their product list.

It was Navroop Singh’s positivism and family support which turned the way of Gill family’s descending sun into rising one…

…and it was Navroop Singh Gill and his family’s effort which made their natural farming initiative recognized and honoured by Krishak Samman Puraskar in 2015.

Gill family was also nominated for 2016 – Krishak Samman Puraskar award.

In 2016, third and the youngest son (Ramandeep Singh Gill) of the Kamaljeet Singh Gill decided to come back from abroad and join his brother and this how the trinity was completed.

Navroop Singh Gill- “THAR NATURALS is a vision of Gill Family to promote natural farming on a large scale and make aware other farmers of Rajasthan and other states that high yield and quality can be easily be achieved through natural farming. And Thar Naturals would never have been possible without the whole family effort.”

Today, THAR NATURALS is producing different varieties of cereals, pulses, millet, fruits, and vegetables; basically, it can be classified into four categories, namely, Agriculture, Fertilizers, Dairy and Horticulture. They are also processing some crops like Green Mung Beans, Bengal gram, Fenugreek Seeds, Chickpeas, Aloe Vera, Flax Seeds, and Canola Oil. Some of their featured products to promote natural farming which they also use in their farms are Jeev Amrit, JIYAN, and Vermicompost. They also have dairy products like milk and desi ghee (clarified butter) of Sahiwal cow for selling purpose.

Currently, Navroop Singh Gill is residing with his family in 58-RB Village in Rai Singh Tehsil of Sri Ganganagar District in Rajasthan. Mrs. Sandeep Kaur Gill (w/o Navdeep Singh), Mrs. Gurpreet Kaur Gill (w/o Navroop Singh) and Mrs. Ramandeep Kaur Gill (w/o Ramandeep Singh) are the hidden supportive members behind Thar Natural and they perform the role of main functionary of the house.

FARM STATS
Farming Technique: Mulching for water management
Implements: Have all the necessary farming machinery like tractor, trolley, harrow, and disc.
Crops: Guar, Pearl Millet, Mung Beans, Bengal grams, Chickpeas, Fenugreek, Flax-seeds
Horticulture Crops: Kinnow, Seasonal Vegetables, Canola

Dairy Farming: Gill Family have more than 100 cows of Sahiwal Breed in their farm. Navroop Singh himself take care of them with the help of few workers.


Message

“Natural farming is the only key to success for farmers in long run.”

Navroop Singh Gill is a prime example for the young farmers who want to see themselves successful in the future in the field of agriculture. Thar Naturals is an idle case of how natural farming is equally profitable as compared to farming done by using genetically modified seeds and chemicals.