Sustainable Farming  

After completing his studies, Deepak Kumar took land on lease and began cultivating melons. Today, with approximately 150-200 quintals of melons per acre, he generates an income of more than Rs 3 crore in just a four-month season.

Mahan Chandra Borah, a farmer from Assam, has been committed to the initiative of preserving indigenous seeds for almost two decades. He aims to establish a seed school which would enable him to impart knowledge to farmers and younger generations about the importance of seed preservation.

In the year 2016, Dharmendra Kumar Namdev began experimenting with natural farming to promote better health and address the issue of stray cattle simultaneously. Initially, he faced challenges in convincing the farmers in adopting natural farming methods but eventually gained support of many.

In March 2022, Kamlesh Mishra set up a polyhouse structure at a cost of Rs 43 lakh. He received a subsidy of Rs 20 lakh from the UP government. Initially, he cultivated cucumber and capsicum in the polyhouse. For vegetable farming, he invested around Rs 5 lakh and generated a revenue of Rs 30 lakh last year.

After completing his studies in 2011, Utkrisht Pandey worked for his dream career in the CAPF. He appeared for the exams and was selected for the position of Assistance Commandment in 2011. He served in various states for over five years. However, later he realized that farming would give him more joy.

Ashwin Nariya has been engaged with organic farming for the past 20 years. He educates other farmers about his farming methods that involves the use of cow urine, cow dung, cow milk, and turmeric in the fields. This approach has proved beneficial as many farmers have been able to increase their production at reduced costs.

78-year-old Thomas Kattakayam acquired his farming skills from his father who was well skilled in the matters of growing healthy vegetables and fruits. Over the last few years, he has cultivated 400 varieties of jackfruit. With an aim to educate people about sustainable agriculture through his initiatives, he makes Rs 4,00,000 per acre.

Dr Prabhakar Rao worked as an architect for years in Dubai and later did his PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics. His passion to encourage sustainable farming methods among farmers brought him back to India. And now he has revived over 500 seeds of vegetables that were going extinct.

Overcoming all the obstacles at the beginning of his business, Dr Nitin Singh now works with over 1700 farmers. He produces various products from his beekeeping business and provides training to women and young individuals to become independent.

Akshay Srivastava invested a sum of Rs 10,000 and started his business of manufacturing organic fertilizers. He learned about the harmful side-effects of chemical fertilizers and started his research to find better alternatives.

Tathagat Barodh form Madhya Pradesh took up farming as a career after completing his studies from NIT and IIT.  He did not do a private job and has been involved in organic farming practices for the last 5 years. Crops like moringa, amla, turmeric, gram, lemon grass are grown on his fields. The other farmers of his area look up to him for inspiration and consider him a role model.

Nagpur’s Pramod Gautam quit from his high-paying job and decided to become a farmer instead. He cultivates groundnut, turmeric, pulses, orange, guava, lemon and much more. He is considered as one of the successful farmers of Nagpur. His business has an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore.

Mukesh Pandey started his own farming business of making vermicompost and achieved success within months. The scepticism from people did not discourage him from continuing with his venture. Today, he exports his products to foreign countries and has a turnover of Rs 15 crore.

Undeterred by the societal pressure, Aksay laid the foundation of his fertilizer company with the internship money he received during his college. His family was uncertain and doubtful about his endeavours but through his successful experiments he proved his capability of running s business. The present valuation of Akshay’s company is Rs 40 crore.

Sarvesh Kumar could not clear the exams for joining the armed forces even after four attempts. He changed his career path and became a farmer instead. He employs organic farming practices in his fields and earns more by selling his organic vegetables and products. Sarvesh has been awarded with the Progressive Farmer Award.