A visit to a relative’s house in 2008 changed the lives of Ramkaran Singh and his family. The farmer from Beri, a village in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, was in Karoli (Haryana) when, for the first time, he saw a farm cultivating pomegranate trees. He came away impressed by the prosperity of the farm owner. “We discussed at home and decided to plant the tree in our land,” says Singh.
He didn’t have much to lose. The pulses and millets he was growing on his half-hectare fetched him ₹20,000 a year — not enough to sustain his family of five, which included two daughters and a son.
“To supplement the farm income, he used to work as a security guard in Sikar, earning ₹6,000 a month,” says Singh’s wife, Santosh Devi. “We were poor, sometimes we didn’t have enough to eat and we could only afford to send our children to a government school,” she adds.
Not anymore. Since 2011, when they first harvested their pomegranates, Singh and his family have been literally enjoying the fruits of their labour. Last year, he earned ₹12 lakh, selling ₹4 lakh worth of fruits and ₹8 lakh of saplings. “We have more than 450 trees, of which 220 are pomegranate,” says Singh. He also grows lemons and oranges.
The improved farm income has changed their lifestyle, marked by the new, two-storeyed home that has taken the place of their thatched house. Two of their children, the son and the younger daughter, are doing a Master’s in agriculture at a nearby college. “The two help in the farm and also give us tips,” says Devi. The elder daughter, who wants to be a teacher, is studying BEd.
Role model
Singh’s prosperity has prompted other farmers to emulate him. Beri village now has 35 farms growing pomegranates and other fruits. Sikar has 1,500 of these farms. “I have given saplings to at least 17 farmers in Beri,” says Singh.
Even the State’s Agriculture Minister paid him a visit earlier this year; now the 45-year-old Singh also takes classes for farmers across the state. “There is no district where I haven’t gone,” he says. The classes are part of the State’s initiative to promote organic farming and expand acreage under fruits to boost farm income. Singh got a 75 per cent subsidy on the saplings, and another 86 per cent subsidy on the solar panels he has installed. The State also gives a 90 per cent subsidy for drip irrigation.
Singh will be one of the teachers at the 50 farmer training schools the agriculture department proposes to set up. “The schools will have a five-day curriculum and classes will be held in batches,” says Baghirath Sabal, Assistant Director, Horticulture.
At their farm in Beri, Singh and Devi follow the concepts of organic and natural farming. They make pesticide and plant supplements using natural ingredients such as turmeric, cow urine and dung, jaggery, and soil. “We have a cow for the dung and urine. We also buy more cow dung from our relatives,” says Devi.