The passion for tilling

Self-motivated entrepreneurs are venturing into this exciting calling more out of passion than profit. Several adventurous people from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are leaving lucrative jobs to find solace in their newfound passion. Such is the attraction of organic farming that two young professionals from Rohtak - Jagmender Kundu and Amit Ahlawat - have left their cushy MNC jobs to make their career in natural farming. 

"I saw some videos on poison-free farming. The idea of chemical-free natural and organic farming touched my heart. I got in touch with Saket, a group dedicated to the promotion of organic farming," says Kundu, 28, a hotel management graduate,  working with Nerolac Paints as a territory sales officer. 

Soon he roped in his brother-in-law Amit Ahlawat, 28, an engineer with Ericsson. The duo started creating awareness campaign about organic farming and gradually started cultivating organically. Kundu belongs to Bahu Akbarpur village and Ahlawat comes from Kharkara village in Rohtak district.

Initially, they started with organic sugarcane, wheat and paddy on just one acre of land. It was a challenge to procure chemical-free seeds and to prepare the field for cultivation without the use of chemicals, they recollect. But, today they have eight acres under organic cultivation at Shekhpur Titri village and they are also growing vegetables and pulses.

They bring fresh organic produce from their farm and sell it outside Mansarovar Park in Rohtak town every morning. They get an encouraging response from morning-walkers.

They are ambitious. "We plan to establish a company to manufacture and market processed organic products," says Kundu, who is connected with a group of nearly 12,000 farmers.

The road was not easy for the youths who decided to quit their well-paying jobs and chose the tough path of farming without using chemical fertilisers, manure or pesticides. They observe that organic farming is much less expensive as compared to chemical-dependent agriculture, but it demands much more manual labour.

"People discourage us and advise us to use chemical sprays to have a good yield of crops. But, we are committed to the cause of growing poison-free foodgrains, vegetables, pulses and other agricultural produce and supplying these to  people as it gives us a lot of satisfaction," Kundu says.

Pankaj Pathak, a merchant navy officer with a lucrative monthly pay package of over Rs 2.5 lakh, left his career about five years ago to pursue organic farming. Pankaj, now 35, grows wheat, basmati rice, mustard, vegetables and fodder in his over eight acre plus farm at Malhari village in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

Having served as a navigating officer for nine years in different overseas shipping companies, he decided in 2013 to quit  for organic farming. "I wanted to do something which was unique. After I learnt that everything we are eating is laced with chemicals, I decided to take it up as a challenge," he says.

He had seen his family using chemicals for farming. Farming was not viable because of high input cost. "Considering the fact, I decided to take a plunge into  organic farming," Pathak says.

"Everything was a challenge, as I had absolutely no clue about organic farming. I had to learn everything from tilling to sowing afresh".

Organic farming not only preserved the nutritious value of the soil, but also increased his income significantly. His products are sold across the country. "I sold organic wheat at Rs 7,000 per quintal to a Bengaluru-based trader while normal wheat sells around Rs 1,700 per quintal. Although the productivity per acre is less compared to chemical farming, but organic farmers are getting more premium. Also, at the same time, they can save significantly on the input cost," he says.

"My income per acre has increased by 50-70 per cent by doing organic farming compared to chemical farming".

Pankaj, however, has a word a caution for the growers "there is low awareness among the masses about organic products. So marketing is a challenge. If customers are aware, it is easy to market organic products, otherwise it's very difficult".

Gurmitter Singh, 43, from Bagour village in Khanna district had been an accountant for a local commission agent (arhtiya) about 11 years when he decided to do farming for additional income. Initially, like any other farmer, he also used chemicals in his farm for higher yield.

After sometime he realised that the use of chemical was giving diminishing returns. Eventually, he suffered losses. It was then he decided to switch to organic farming. 

In 2007, he came in contact with a local NGO involved in organic farming. Taking its help, he started cultivating organic crops in his one acre. Having received technical knowhow from the NGO, he started growing organic vegetables on his land. He earned more from farming than his job as an accountant. Having tasted success, he added 0.75 acres of additional land.

"I am much satisfied person, ever since I started organic farming. The income has gone up significantly. My input cost is almost zero, except seed. Moreover, I get a premium of Rs 10-Rs 20 per kg on my produce," he says.