Jaivik Farms: Prosperity through Diversification

I am Manjeet Singh, 25 of Dyalpura Village in Mansa District. I have studied till 12th class. In my family, I have my parents, my sister, my wife and my daughter. I am fond of agriculture and want to achieve tremendous success in this field and also earn lots of money so that I can give a very good life to my family.

I have 10 acres land and 10 acres I have taken on lease, hence I do farming on 20 acres of land. I plant Paddy in 10 acres and Cotton in other 10 acres. I use all the modern techniques for cultivation but at times, for certain crops I do hand cultivation as well. I have my own modern agricultural implements such has Plough, Spray Pump, Rotavator, Ripper and whenever the need arises, I also get equipment on rent. I also own 6 buffalos and I sell 4 kg milk daily. I plant the fodder for animals such as Corn, Pearl Millets, Oat and Egyptian Clover myself, thus reducing my dependability on external factors. I sell all the produce in the nearby mandi Bareta in Mansa District.

The biggest problem that I face is regarding the marketing of agricultural goods. Every season there are a lot of problems faced while selling paddy produce in the markets. I think farming community should come together and press the government for making reforms in agricultural produce procurement. There are lot of adulteration these days in pesticides and fertilizers and small farmers are suffering due to this. Government should keep a check on malpractices. Farmers also face problems due to the hassles created by middlemen. Government can rein them in by making proper policies.

I request entire farming community to take steps to save water as water table is receding every year and if we do not take pro-active steps, coming generations may face water scarcity for agriculture.