This progressive farmer from Banga grows 25 exotic vegetables

The life of 48-year-old Baljit Singh Kang has been interesting. Today, he grows 25 types of exotic vegetables, has an orchard with over 20 fruit trees, and in a year, he grows nearly 70 crops, all in organic way.

Hailing from Dhahan village in Banga, Nawanshahr, Kang, along with his family, are PR holders and had left Nawanshahr in 2021 to spend the rest of their lives in the UK. They instead spent five months there, only to come back to their native place permanently.

Kang realised that he could do much more here and his realisation and hard work have borne fruit.

"I was 12 when, along with studies, I started doing farming. My parents were already abroad and I was here. In 1989, I started growing turmeric, something that was quite rare then," he said.

Having done double Masters in political science and Punjabi. He was also a national-level athlete. "I used to do cross-country and 800 m and 1,500 m race," the progressive farmer told The Tribune.

He was also into restaurant business which got shut in 2013 due to various reasons, but the experience from the business stuck with him.

"When I was running the business, I used to go to five-star restaurants to know what vegetables and dishes were being liked by the customers and that was the time, I got to know about various new things," he said.

He now grows lesser-known vegetables as well — Swiss Chard, Parsley, Chinese Cabbage, red cabbage, Kashmiri Raddish, four types of lettuce, Leek, three types of ginger, Kali Gajar etc. He has also started exporting kali gajar to Himachal Pradesh.

He not only cultivates such exotic crops, but also tells his consumers on how to use and cook these to turn into a tasty dish. Apart from this, he also talks about the nutritional value every vegetable holds.

"I am not a negative person. Even if I have suffered losses, I have learnt from these. I put all my heart in various works, which is why this success," he said.

When various stories of the US deportees are creating negative environment everywhere, his example of being the PR holder and doing everything here is an inspiration for all.

These days, Kang is in Solan where he is getting trained by a special committee that has been formed the Central Government. "Trainers have been appointed from across the nation and I am one of them. We will guide the farmers on natural farming," he said.