US Visa Rejection Was Not the End for Him: Meet the 56-YO Empowering 230 Farmers in Punjab Village

In the early 1990s, Davinder Singh Mushkabad had his heart set on the United States. He was young, ambitious, and, like many in Punjab at the time, believed that a better life awaited abroad. 

His elder brother had already made it to the US, and Davinder was keen to follow his footsteps. With a university degree and a background in the Sikh Regiment, he appeared to be a strong candidate. But fate had other plans.

His visa application was rejected. For many, this might have marked the end of ambition. But for Davinder, it was the beginning of something far more grounded; quite literally. He returned to his village of Mushkabad near Samrala in Punjab, not to sulk, but to sow a different kind of future.

What began as a detour quickly became a mission. Over the next three decades, Davinder transformed a small farm into a thriving agricultural enterprise, one that not only sustained his own family but also empowered over 230 other farmers to take control of their land, their produce, and their profits.

From modest beginnings to a new direction

Davinder’s journey into agriculture was born out of necessity. In 1992, he began farming with just half an acre of chillies. The yield earned him Rs 45,000, which was not a windfall, but enough to spark hope. 

His wife, Baljit Kaur, took up dairy farming to supplement the family income. Together, they saved and slowly expanded operations to ten acres, adding tomatoes and other seasonal crops into the mix.

But Davinder’s goals weren’t limited to daily sustenance. He was watching, learning, and experimenting. He paid attention to water use, invested in drip irrigation, and studied the market carefully. His approach to farming was never passive; it was strategic. Even before formal training, he believed in treating agriculture as a business.

Then came the turning point. In 2007, Davinder travelled to Spain and Italy for training in protected cultivation. What he saw there shifted his worldview. 

Farmers were growing crops in extreme conditions with the help of polyhouses and working collectively through cooperatives. They bypassed middlemen, focused on quality, and earned well.

“I also observed that the climatic conditions in Italy were not that favourable for agriculture as compared to India, still, they were achieving high productivity from their fields. 

People were using POLY-HOUSE to give an ideal atmosphere to the crops for their growth and development. Seeing all this was very surprising to me,” Davinder told Apnikheti.com. That trip planted the seed for a new model, one he would soon bring to life in Punjab.

Innovation that grew more than crops

Inspired by his learnings abroad, Davinder set up bamboo polyhouses on his farm, later upgrading them to steel structures. He began cultivating high-value crops like coloured capsicum, seedless cucumber, and exotic vegetables. 

our vegetables 9876835433 pic.twitter.com/SCfzs0Vah0

— Davinder Singh Mushkabad (@SinghMushkabad) December 17, 2021

These are the kind of produce rarely seen in local mandis. With careful use of fertilisers, water conservation, and seasonal planning, his farm's earnings multiplied.

While a traditional wheat or paddy farmer might make Rs 50,000 to Rs 80,000 per acre annually, Davinder’s polyhouse ventures started fetching Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh per acre. The returns were staggering, but Davinder knew that true change couldn’t come if the model benefited only him.

In 2010, he founded the Agro Help Aid Society, inviting farmers from nearby villages to join hands. Over 230 of them came together to form a cooperative under the brand Farmers Agri Mart. 

They pooled their resources to buy inputs in bulk and sold produce directly to markets in Chandigarh and Delhi, cutting out exploitative middlemen. For the first time, small farmers had bargaining power.

Davinder recalls his early days in the mandi, sitting with a weighing scale, calculating rates, and talking to customers directly. It wasn’t just about selling vegetables; it was about reclaiming dignity in a profession that had long been seen as unrewarding.

Recognition, mentorship, and a Visa revisited

Over the years, Davinder’s work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Award for crop diversification in 2008 and the ICAR Chief Minister’s Award in 2009. 

He’s served on advisory boards at Punjab Agricultural University and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. His farm has hosted delegations, students, and curious farmers from across India.

He’s also represented India in Malaysia, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, and, in a full-circle moment, the United States - this time, not as a hopeful migrant but as a successful agricultural entrepreneur. It was a quiet victory, not of leaving the country, but of proving that success can be built from home soil.

Today, his son Jasdeep works alongside him on the farm, while his daughters have chosen their paths; one pursuing medicine and the other working in Canada. 

Davinder, however, remains firmly rooted in Mushkabad, where he conducts regular training sessions, offers free kitchen gardening workshops, and mentors first-generation farmers in the art and science of modern agriculture.

A life rooted in purpose

Davinder Singh’s story is a reminder that failure is not always the end and sometimes it is the beginning of something more meaningful. What began with a visa rejection turned into a lifelong commitment to self-reliance and collective growth. 

Today, as hundreds of farmers walk the path he once carved alone, Davinder’s story stands as a quiet revolution proving that true success doesn’t always lie across borders. Sometimes, it grows right where you are planted.