Avneet Kaur
Jalandhar, September 19
At a time when a large section of the farming population is hesitant to adopt new agricultural technologies, a Jalandhar-based farmer has achieved the best results by combining modern techniques with sound management. Amarjit Singh of Behram Sarishta village here has become an inspiration to other farmers as he continues to grow his vegetable nursery venture by making the most use of available resources.
In 2011, this Italy-returned farmer started his vegetable nursery with a small piece of land. But it has now expanded to six acres, besides he has set up a small counter along his farm for direct selling, thus saving on commissions to middlemen.
Farmers and other residents from Jalandhar and neighbouring districts and villages make queues outside his counter to buy seedlings, raw seeds and other farming products. “We usually take bulk orders early in the morning over the phone or through WhatsApp. Some local farmers buy as many as 60,000 seedlings or even more than that either for cultivating vegetables in their own farms or for selling it further,” says Amarjit, adding he even gets orders from Jammu, Himachal and other states.
He says using polyhouse, net house, and techniques like drip irrigation, he grows seedlings of a variety of vegetables like capsicum, cucumber, cauliflower, tomato, lettuce, broccoli among others. “In polyhouse, the plants are grown in a controlled environment with less water, limited sun rays and lesser pesticides. On the other hand, the net house allows needed sunlight, moisture, and air to pass through the gaps, providing an appropriate micro-climate beneficial to vegetable growth,” Amarjit explains. For irrigation, he says he was earlier using the flooding method. “However, water was distributed unevenly to crops, resulting in seed damage and fungus problems. Now we employ drip irrigation and it prevents diseases and over watering as well as saves time, money and water”, he added.
He further says he is now only utilising between 70,000 and 80,000 litres of water for irrigation as compared to lakhs of litres in the past. Furthermore, he has set up a rainwater harvesting system at his farm through which he saves around 80 to 90,000 litres of rainwater.
Talking about his journey, why he returned from Italy and how the idea of vegetable nursery struck him, Amarjit says he belongs to a farmer family, and his father and grandfather were also farmers. “Like majority of the youngsters looking for greener pastures to make more money, I too moved to Italy. I was into a farming job there, and learnt a lot about vegetable nursery. But I wasn’t satisfied with what I was doing, so I returned and started a small vegetable nursery here”, he adds.
He says his wife Rajvir Kaur also helped him in his venture. “I have also received the Parwasi Bharti Award for ‘Self Cultivation Farmer-Diversified Farming System’ in 2016 from PAU in recognition of my efforts to diversify farming”, he stresses.
Amarjit further says the journey hasn’t been easy for him. He faced a lot of challenges, but the local water and soil conservation department was always there to his rescue. He says whenever he needed advice, local officials helped him reach out to PAU experts. He says he is also receiving subsidies from the government for irrigation, machinery, and other needs.
Lupinder Kumar, Water and Soil Conservation Officer, Jalandhar, says, “Amarjit, who is earning handsomely, has become an example to other farmers, inspiring them to make the most of available resources, modern technology and assistance provided by the government”.
Demand for seedlings from his farm
- In 2011, Amarjit Singh of Behram Sarishta village started his vegetable nursery with a small piece of land, which has now expanded to six acres. He uses polyhouse, net house, and techniques like drip irrigation to grows seedlings of a variety of vegetables
- Farmers and other residents from Jalandhar and neighbouring districts and villages make queues outside the farm to buy seedlings, raw seeds and other farming products. Amarjit says even he gets orders from Jammu, Himachal and other states
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September 20, 2022 at 08:29AM
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Italy-returned farmer gains ground in vegetable nursery, reaps profits - The Tribune India
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