Inspiration:Youth left Govt Job to be Progressive Farmer
Patiala-The inspiring story of young graduate from Netherlands former scientist with government-turned-progressive farmer has proven that when coupled with good education, farming yields the best of results.
Amarinder Singh from Sadhohari village in Nabha block of Patiala district after doing his M.Sc. Geo-informatics from the Netherlands in 2009 served Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (GOP) as Scientist-B for four years but left his plum job to venture into agriculture in 2013. His startup was naturally ventilated polyhouse of 4000 sq m. Continuing with the conventional wheat-paddy farming on his family owned 32 acres, he added another 4000 sq m polyhouse in 2014.
Encouraged by the output from polyhouses, Amarinder took to vegetables cultivation in open fields. He grew capsicum, melon, cucumber, bitter gourd and green chilly using modern means such as drip irrigation, mulching and low tunnel technology. In 2015, he added yet another 1000 sqm poly net house. In 2016, Amarinder took up construction of mushroom compost unit and produced 344 quintals of seasonal mushroom from 15000 bags (525 q of wheat straw). Polyhouse was used as mushroom growing area by covering it with a layer of paddy-straw upon shade net. He not only saved the paddy stubble from going up in flames albeit in 2016-17 like a true entrepreneur generated employment of 5000 man-days. Now, Amarinder Singh using modern farming techniques, is not only getting handsome gains but also continues to be lighthouse of knowledge.
Amarinder Singh today became a successful vegetable cultivator on the basis of cooperation, subsidies and technical assistance provided by the Horticulture Department of Punjab Government. He took subsidies worth Rs 16 lakh 88 thousand per acre and Rs 2 lakh 80 thousand per hectare on planting material. Besides this he has also applied for subsidy on compost unit of mushrooms.
After becoming icon of ‘ghar-ghar rozgar’ the dream of Chief Minister Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, the young man says that within span of four years, the general perception of the people about him has changed from a “Crazy guy who has left Govt. job for agriculture to A successful and progressive farmer inspiring others.”
Amarinder Singh says that pesticide-free marketable vegetables are his biggest contribution to the society in general. He advocates that insecticide and fungicides should be avoided during harvesting.Water is efficiently managed by use of drip irrigation in polyhouses and 8-acre open field.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director of Horticulture Department Patiala office Swaran Singh Maan said that the department has been providing technical assistance from time to time to other farmers including this cultivator so that they can reduce the agricultural costs and make additional profit. Horticulture Development Officer Nabha Hardeep Singh was also present.
