Husband’s cancer prompts Delhi resident to take up organic farming in Una, become agro entrepreneur

Odds were heavily stacked against Reeva Sood when she decided to delve into organic farming about seven or eight years ago. She was already in her late fifties, had little knowledge of farming, had to shift from Delhi to a village in Una district and the land where she planned to try organic farming was barren and covered with cactus.

However, it took her just a few years to overcome these challenges and establish herself as the leading woman agro entrepreneur of the region. She is the first in the state to grow dragon fruit on a large scale and intercrop it with a variety of medicinal plants like asparagus, holy basil, aloevera, etc. “We need to go beyond the conventional idea of farming, use technology and schemes and subsidies available to become successful in our ventures,” says 65-year old Reeva while reflecting on her inspiring journey.

Her husband Dr Rajeev Sood, who was a cancer specialist at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, was diagnosed with cancer and this shocking development turned her towards organic farming. She realised that chemical-laden food, along with modern lifestyle, was a big reason behind the increasing incidences of cancer and other diseases. Once she made the decision to take up organic farming, the big question was what to grow. She opted for medicinal plants and dragon fruit on the land that had been barren for more than 50 years.

“The thick cover of cactus on the land suggested that dragon fruit, a variety of cactus, will be suitable. And my decision proved right as I had a big dragon fruit farm, intercropped with medicinal plants, ready within two years,” she added.

The quick success came on the back of her scientific and technology-oriented mind and the knowledge gathered from various sources. She studied local conditions, tested the soil, attended several training programmes and went to several government offices to avail of relevant schemes and subsides. “All these efforts led to what’s now a thriving organic farm in a short period,” she said.

Reeva took another unconventional route when her dragon fruit plants started bearing fruit. Instead of selling the fruit, she decided to go for value addition and produced a healthy concoction of dragon fruit and medicinal plant. “I started a company and launched the juice under the brand name of Dragona. We are working towards introducing a few more products shortly,” says Reeva. Besides, the planting material from her nurseries is distributed in several states by government agencies.

Taking a cue from her success, many other farmers have started planting dragon fruit in Una. “I am glad that I can inspire other through my efforts,” says the successful agro entrepreneur.