In 1996, Abdul Ahad Lone heard of organic farming for the first time. It was on a train journey from Mumbai to Kashmir that he met an organic farmer from Sikkim who explained the long-term perils of inorganic farming.
The train journey came to an end but he embarked on a new path to adopt organic farming in his family farm.
“I remained in touch with Swagata. In 2002, she advised me to prepare vermicompost to get more production from the organic farm,” he says.
Utilising raw materials available at home like cow dung, agricultural and kitchen waste, he began preparing vermicompost for his organic farm.
“Vermicompost is rich in nitrates and minerals, such as phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. These work as excellent organic fertilisers and enhance soil quality,” he says.
Abdul felt that the vermicompost had the potential to be turned into a business. By 2009, he started selling worm manure under the label ‘Ahad Agro Farms’.
He now sells at least five tonnes of vermicompost daily to local farmers in Jammu and Kashmir. And annually, he manufactures 36,000 bags of 50 kg each.
“There is a huge demand for vermicompost in entire Kashmir. With the current production, I am catering to only 10 to 15 villages. I am planning to boost production to one lakh bags now,” he adds.
With his efforts, almost the entire Simthan village has discarded chemical fertilisers to use organic manure.
Abdul has also trained 25 unemployed rural youth and 150 women homemakers in his village to take up the vermicompost business by giving free training.
“It is immensely satisfying to empower these homemakers and rural youth who are now earning an additional income from what was a waste to them,” he says.
Today, the farmer earns a daily income of Rs 50,000 with vermicompost. Last year, his annual turnover was Rs 1.5 crore.