paddy

Kahan Singh Pannu, a retired IAS officer from Punjab, has developed an innovative technique called Seeding of Rice on Beds (SRB) to combat the state’s critical groundwater depletion. His approach conserves water, saves money, and inspires a shift towards conservation-oriented agriculture.

A resident of Thumbur village in Thrissur district of Kerala, Tom Kiron Davis quit his job in Dubai to change the perception towards farming. He now helps several farmers earn in lakhs annually.

Mukund Thakar, a floriculturist, in Pune's Maval district launched the Pawna Phul Utpadak Sangh, helping farmers diversify their produce and earn in lakhs. Their Valentine's Day consignment is their biggest yet with 7 lakh roses reaching as far as Jammu and Kashmir and Guwahati.

Bhibhu Sahu from Odisha is a rice mill owner, who began selling rice husk produced as a by-product of his mills to steel companies across the globe. In 2019, he sold about 100 tonnes of husk pellets to these companies

Titus Sam Joseph and his wife, Celine, cultivated 4 kilos of rice crop on their terrace through this unique method.

“With our cities in tatters, builders have now started attacking our interior villages. We want people to get back to farming, and show them that it’s a profitable endeavour.”

11 years ago, when he was working in the field, he was bitten by a snake. For more than an hour, the bite was undetected, till he collapsed on the field and couldn’t raise his arm.

Content with the life choices the duo has made, KP Illias and Shamika Mone are on the pursuit of engaging more farmers across the country in organic farming.

It’s been more than two decades and he continues to grow chemical-free paddy. But that’s not the only reason the retired teacher-turned-organic farmer is famous.

The 1990s saw a drastic shift of the villagers from farming to other professions. Farming yielded low profits, groundwater levels were severely depleted, and the pH value of the water was considered unsuitable even for drinking purposes.