But the profit did not do justice to the investment. Halfway into 2014, Rajeev had a good harvest of watermelon and muskmelon. It also restricts the growth of weeds around the main crop,” Rajeev tells us from his farm. This restores the sun rays for a long time and retains humidity of the soil. “Drip irrigation is the best way to reduce water wastage and labour cost, while mulching is nothing but a thin layer of plastic in which holes are made to put the seeds. He made use of the latest technology, like drip irrigation and mulching, to get a maximum yield at his farm. And thus his journey into agriculture began. His first step was to lease some land in Kuchu village, 32 km away from Ranchi.Īs he did not have the funds to pay rent for the land, he offered the landlord 1/3rd of the produce he grew. And according to him, he earns more from farming than his chartered accountancy firm!Īfter his three-year-old daughter refused to mingle with farmers during one of his visits to his ancestral village, Rajiv decided to take up farming to change her views. Rajiv is a part-time Chartered Accountant and a full-time farmer. He and his wife work day and night to take care of the plants and hence the cost of production is less, giving them better profits. Indeed, Vishwanath takes help of only two labourers at his farm. He has also picked up farming methods like raised-bed farming and mulching over the years, which has proved to be beneficial. ![]() Vishwanath also installed a pipeline with his first-year profits to ensure sprinklers watered his plants. ![]() Vishwanath decided to give multi-cropping a try, and he also figured out that he could increase his crop by building a wire fence and planting creepers and climbers on them. 1 crore from his dal mill and an additional Rs 10-12 lakh from horticulture, which is much more than what he was earning as an engineer! Pramod sells the processed and unpolished pulses under the brand name of ‘Vandana’. Pramod also decided to start his own mill. He planted oranges, guavas, lemons, sweet limes, raw bananas and Toor Dal. In 2007-08, Pramod switched wholly to horticulture. Even with a low budget, they can rent farm equipment using apps like Trringo. Incidentally, farmers like Pramod can make such choices now since, unlike before, they do not have to buy all the equipment. An example of such types of equipment used by some Indian farmers is the driverless tractor technology – developed by Mahindra for such situations. ![]() Pramod decided to switch to other crops and modern farm equipment, which were not so labour intensive. He planted white groundnuts and turmeric but reaped no benefits.Īvailability of labour was another big issue as workers preferred to migrate to cities and work in factories. Initially, Pramod faced his share of challenges. In 2006, after feeling unsatisfied in his job as an automobile engineer, Pramod abandoned engineering and decided to give farming an earnest shot on his 26-acre ancestral land.
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