Success Story
1) Sri Dilip Kumar Singh : A successful agri-entrepreneur in vegetable farming.
Name & Address
Shri. Dilip Kumar Singh
S/o Sri Ram Vyas Singh
Vill. : Mehaddiganj, P.O. : Sasaram - 821115
Dist. : Rohtas (Bihar)
Mob. : +91 9304068539, +91 8986372989
Dilip Kumar Singh is the name of such a progressive farmer who has completely devoted his life to vegetable farming. Dilip is the son of Sri Ram Vyas Singh, a resident of Mehaddiganj near Sasaram in Rohtas district.
He was born in a poor family in the year 1972, January 1st and struggled a lot for his childhood upliftment. He had to discontinue his study mid-way after Intermediate and switched over to livelihood earning through the way of vegetable shopping in the year 1993. Due to insufficient earnings for the family survival, he could not stick to the vegetable shopping alone, but started vegetable farming on leased land of 02-acres in village Mishirpur, Sasaram block as he had no land of his own. He worked hard on the vegetable field, produced vegetables successfully and in turn got good incomes. But this was also not very sufficient to quench his thirst of earning a very handsome amount which led him to extend the vegetable cultivation in large areas, nearly 20-acres in villages like Kuraich, Dyalpur, Lalganj, Neema, Kota, Suma and Jaynagar, all of which were nearer to his native village at Sasaram block. Gradually he started earning a good amount out of the vegetable production and improved the standard of living more than before. In the year 2004, he came in contact with Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Rohtas, Bikramganj and the KVK-Scientists guided him in scientific production of different vegetables - Tomato, Okra, Cauliflower, Brinjal, Potato, Onion, Chilli, Bottle gourd, Bitter gourd, Capsicum etc. which were fetching him much higher profits than ever before. In between, he was also motivated to receive latest techniques-cum-training from Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi & Department of Horticulture, BHU, Varanasi. He got through it and gained innovative knowledge for producing organic vegetables. Thereafter, with continuous technical guidance and know-how from KVK, Rohtas, Bikramganj and BAU, Sabour, Bhagalpur, he started producing large quantities of vegetables, both organic and non-organic base on 100-acres of leased land and earning around Rs.7-10 lakhs income in a year. Apart from that, he also providing employment to 15-20 thousand labourers each year in his own vegetable farming.
Presently he has proved himself much more than a vegetable grower and has become a potential entrepreneur in the field of vegetable production. More interestingly, he has inducted innovative interventions into the system of vegetable production and marketing management; he has adopted Inter-cropping, mixed-cropping, timely prevention and curative measures, three-tier-management system of human resources in cropping and effective labour management in the entire farming system. He has brought about radical changes in the innovative management package and contributed toward record productions in various crops in the district. The following tables depicts the level of production, productivity and net returns being accrued by a very progressive & potential farmer like Dilip Kumar Singh who has raised himself from zero-background to an excellent level of entrepreneurship not only in the district or state, but in the whole country.
Table 1
| S.No. | Crop | Area (ha) | Yield (q.) | Productivity (q/ha) | Gross Income (Rs./ ha.) | Cost (Rs.) | Net Income (Rs./ha.) | B : C Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Potato Vr. - R. Aloo-I, C-I, Lal Gulab |
1.0 | 375.00 | 375.00 | 1,87,500.00 | 50,000.00 | 1,37,500.00 | 2.7:1 |
| 2 | Tomato Vr. laxmi, Shahenshah, Badshah |
5.0 | 500.00 | 1000.00 | 3,00,000.00 | 62,500.00 | 2,37,500.00 | 3.8:1 |
| 3 | Green Chili Vr.- Deonoor deluxe, Indira |
1.0 | 450.00 | 450.00 | 3,60,000.00 | 1,00,000.00 | 2,60,000.00 | 2.6:1 |
| 4 | Onion Vr.- Agrifound light red, N-53 |
4.0 | 1400.00 | 350.00 | 1,40,000.00 | 44,000.00 | 96,000.00 | 2.2:1 |
| 5 | Brinjal Vr.- Rajani, Swarna mani |
2.0 | 1000.00 | 500.00 | 2,00,000.00 | 50,000.00 | 1,50,000.00 | 3.1:1 |
| 6 | Okra Var.- Sonal, Sarika, Dipika, Sonakshi, Shakti |
1.80 | 540.00 | 300.00 | 1,80,000.00 | 37,500.00 | 1,43,500.00 | 3.8:1 |
| 7 | Broccoli Vr.- Ashwarya |
0.50 | 175.00 | 350.00 | 2,75,000.00 | 30,000.00 | 2,45,000.00 | 8.2:1 |
| 8 | Cauliflower Vr.- Sweta, Lucky, Madhuri |
1.0 | 350.00 | 350.00 | 1,40,000.00 | 25,000.00 | 1,15,000.00 | 4.6:1 |
| 9 | Capsicum Vr.- Swarna, Natasha, 623 |
0.80 | 180.00 | 300.00 | 4,50,000.00 | 35,000.00 | 4,15,000.00 | 11.9:1 |
| 10 | Cow Pea Var.- Gomchi/Gomti |
0.60 | 195.00 | 225.00 | 1,35,000.00 | 30,000.00 | 1,05,000.00 | 3.5:1 |
| 11 | Coriander Leaf Vr.- Kargil, Surabhi |
1.0 | 625.00 | 150.00 | 1,50,000.00 | 25,000.00 | 1,25,000.00 | 5:1 |
| 12 | Bitter Gaurd Vr.- Hyb.- Sankar, Chaman |
0.40 | 130.00 | 325.00 | 3,62,500.00 | 50,000.00 | 3,12,500.00 | 6.3:1 |
| 13 | Bottle Guard Vr.- Barad, Kaveri |
0.80 | 500.00 | 625.00 | 1,87,500.00 | 37,500.00 | 1,50,500.00 | 4:1 |
| 14 | Sponge Guard | 0.40 | 460.00 | 400.00 | 2,40,000.00 | 22,500.00 | 2,17,500.00 | 9.7:1 |
| 15 | Cabbage Vr.- Green Express, Alisah , Red Ball |
0.80 | 500.00 | 625.00 | 1,87,500.00 | 37,500.00 | 1,50,500.00 | 4:1 |
| 16 | Green Pea | 0.40 | 30.00 | 75.00 | 90,000.00 | 25,000.00 | 65,000.00 | 2.6:1 |
| 17 | Cucumber | 0.40 | 60.0 | 150.00 | 1,50,000.00 | 20,000.00 | 1,30,000.00 | 6.5:1 |
| 18 | Radish | 0.40 | 160.00 | 400.00 | 2,40,000.00 | 27,500.00 | 2,12,500.00 | 7.7:1 |
His innovative technologies and skills have been horizontally spread to many farmers in the state and outside nationally. He has been recognized many times by the State Govt., the Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur & Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, KVK, Rohtas and ICAR, New Delhi on various occasions for his outstanding contributions in the field of vegetable farming. Recently he has been awarded with the most prestigious innovative farmer award i.e. Jagjivan Ram Abhinav Kisan Puraskar: 2012-13 by ICAR, New Delhi because of his untiring efforts and tremendous contribution in enhancing the agricultural growth rate in the country.
His socio-economic status has been obviously raised with respect to education, health, infrastructure, housing and other social standards. He has been an ideal and burning example of all farming fraternities in the entire country. The state is very proud of having such a son of soil like Sri Dilip Kumar Singh.
2) Sri Vijay Bahadur Singh : A successful farm manager of Rohtas District, Bihar.
Name & Address
Vijay Bahadur Singh
S/o Late Sitaram
Vill. : Sabeya, Block : Rajpur
Dist. : Rohtas, PIN - 802219
(Mob.) : +91 8002119937
Vijay Bahadur Singh, an innovative farmer of Sabiya village, Rajpur block of Rohtas district has developed a patch of nearly 2.0 ha in an exhibitive form through integrated land and water management practices. He has sensitized for managing this sandy barren land by the scientists of KVK, Rohtas. He planned to grow horticultural crops in this field in consultation with scientists. Production and use of Vermi-compost, use of organic and inorganic mulch, adoption of latest methods of water application and selective use of crop rotation has improved the soil quality and productivity of land many fold in a short time span of 3-years.
Growing crops in barren land was his prime motto. He started production of Vermi-compost from 2010 to meet the organic input demand of the land as per recommendation of scientists. Initially he started growing vegetable crops in rainy season and got benefited by proper use of Vermi-compost and organic mulch. He received a remunerative price / return from his first endeavor because availability of vegetable in Rice-Wheat cropping system dominating district is very poor in this season. Higher cost of vegetable in this season encouraged him for growing crops through the season in same patch of land. Since the land was upland and sandy, the conventional method of irrigation was not suitable for it; so he adopted the advance methods of irrigations and started using drip irrigation, micro sprinkler, sprinkler and rain-gun method of irrigation for different crops.
He converted his barren land into a more profitable patch through integrated use of available natural recourses. Now he is fetching a handsome return from his land and became popular not only among the farming community but also in scientific community due to his sincerity, hardworking and innovative nature. Performance of few crops in his field is given in Table-1.
Table -1 : Economic performance of different crops
| S.No. | Crop | Productivity | Net Profit | B. C. Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oal | 540.00 | 340000.00 | 3.9 |
| 2 | Sponge Gourd | 350.00 | 425000.00 | 9.45 |
| 3 | Bitter Gourd | 275.00 | 515000.00 | 8.6 |
| 4 | Turmeric | 500.00 | 200000.00 | 3.5 |
| 5 | Bottle Gourd | 450.00 | 220000.00 | 4.3 |
| 6 | Tomato | 360.00 | 435000.00 | 5.3 |
Apart from these major crops, he has satisfactorily tried okra, cucumber, brinjal, spinach, fenugreek, gram, onion, garlic, mustard, strawberry, beat, raddish, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower etc. in his field.
Alongwith these he is earning about 2-5 to 3.0 lakhs from selling of worms. The innovative idea of farmer was getting spread horizentally among the local farmers but increasing interruptions of “Nilgai” again compelled him to think about. He developed a protective net of parachute thread with local skill of net weaving. The cost of protective net is about Rs. 5/feet. The normal life of this protective net is about 3 years and is acting effectively against not only the entry of “Nilgai” (Blue-bull) but all types of stray animals also and getting popular among farmers.
The innovation of land management and net protection made him a recognizable figure not only in district but also in Universities and research institutions engaged in agriculture. Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur recognized his innovative ability and awarded him as the most progressive farmer in its Research Council and Kisan Mela in the year 2012-13. To his credit he is being utilised as a master trainers by KVK, Rohtas, Bikramganj in most of its training programmers in the district. Along with, the district level officials like DAO,DHO,ATMA, Distt. Soil Conservation officers - all are utilizing him as a master trainer in their on going capacity-building programmes in Rohtas District.
3) Sri Deen Dayal Singh : Relay cropping improved the livelihood of rural youths involved in family farming.
Name & Address
Name : Sri Deen Dayal Singh
Father’s Name : Sri Prem Chandra Singh
Village / Block : Nasriganj
District : Rohtas
Age : 31 Years
Education : Intermediate
Engaged in Vegetable Farming : Since the last 15-years at the age of 16 years.
Family Members Engaged in Farming : 08 (Father, Mother, Brothers-03 & their wives -03)
The continuous technological back-up and monitoring of KVK, Rohtas, Bikramganj have improved the livelihood status of many rural youths in the district. The Deen Dayal brothers, the most progressive rural youths of KVK, Rohtas and hailing from lower socio-economic status of Nasriganj block of Rohtas district, are such peers who are involved in relay cropping of vegetables in 1.5 ha of land throughout the year and reaping very good margin of profits. They are smartly involved in their family farming that includes the sincere hard work of the father, mother, brother as well as daughter-in-laws of the family. They have been adopting relay-cropping of vegetables (Bottle gourd, Cucumber, Bitter gourd/ Sponge gourd etc.) followed by winter vegetables (Okra, Potato, Spinach, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Raddish, Coriander) in the same patch of land. The land is also utilized for growing summer vegetables - Brinjal, cucumber, pumpkin, okra etc. and the entire farm activities are carried out by all the family members. The two brothers, aged 30 & 26 years respectively, have taken over the marketing work of their farm produce. Not a single outside labor is involved in farming; this smart family farming has accrued them a net profit level of approx. 6.0 lakhs rupees per year and hence improved their livelihood status during the last 3-4 years. The Deen Dayal brothers have bagged many awards and prizes in the district as well as of the University level for their unique achievements in family farming.
Average Production & Productivity of Vegetables
| S.No. | Crop | Variety | Productivity (Q/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tomato | Kashi Vishesh, Hybrid-687 | 640 |
| 2 | Okra | Kashi Kranti, Nirman Hybrid | 240 |
| 3 | Brinjal | Navkiran Hybrid | 400 |
| 4 | Sponge Gourd | Century | 400 |
| 5 | Bottle Gourd | Local | 640 |
| 6 | Coriander | R. Swati | 160 |
| 7 | Spinach | P-Jyoti & Local | 320 |
| 8 | Cauliflower | Hybrid & Sabour Agrim | 240 100 |
| 9 | Cabbage | Hybrid | 400 |
| 10 | Cowpea | Kashi Kanchan | 160 |
Remunerative Vegetable Cultivation & Income generation by the RY
| S.No. | Crop | Cost of Production (Rs/ha) | Income (Rs/ha) | Net Return (Rs/ha) | B : C ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tomato | 80,000 | 5,60,000 | 4,80,000 | 7:1 |
| 2 | Okra | 2,40,000 | 8,00,000 | 5,60,000 | 10:3 |
| 3 | Brinjal | 1,60,000 | 8,00,000 | 6,40,000 | 5:1 |
| 4 | Sponge Gourd | 40,000 | 2,40,000 | 2,00,000 | 6:1 |
| 5 | Bottle Gourd | 1,60,000 | 4,80,000 | 3,20,000 | 3:1 |
| 6 | Coriander | 80,000 | 6,40,000 | 5,60,000 | 8:1 |
| 7 | Spinach | 80,000 | 5,60,000 | 4,80,000 | 7:1 |
| 8 | Cauliflower | 80,000 | 4,00,000 | 3,20,000 | 5:1 |
A. Net Profit accrued out of the Relay cropping
| S.No. | Vegetables | Net Profit (Rs.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bottle gourd | 80,000 |
| 2 | Coriander | 1,40,000 |
| 3 | Spinach | 1,20,000 |
| 4 | Cauliflower | 80,000 |
| 5 | Okra | 1,40,000 |
| 6 | Coriander Sponge gourd | 50,000 |
| 7 | Amranth | 60,000 |
| TOTAL | 6,70,000 |
B. Labour Inputs (no.) = 1160
Labour Cost @ Rs.200/- = Rs. 2,32,000/- (34.62%)
Net Saving (for others) = Rs. 4,38,000/-
In order to recognize the unique achievements made by the progressive farmers of the eastern region of the country, the ministry of agriculture & Cooperative, Govt. of India has awarded farmers in the Purvanchal Kshetriya Kisan Mela-2015 held at Central Potato Research Station, Patna on 20th Feb, 2015. Sri Deen Dayal Singh, a progressive young farmer under KVK, Rohtas has been awarded with a certificate and a shawl by the Cabinet Minister, Agriculture, Govt. of India for his outstanding contribution in agriculture through family farming. The relay cropping practised by the farmer throughout the year fetches him a profit level of Rs.4-5 lakhs per annum from a piece of 0.25 ha of leased land in the Nasiriganj block of Rohtas district. His efforts have been highly appreciated and recognized in the fair and will inspire other farmers for relay cropping. The farmer has also recognized the contribution of KVK, Rohtas in making him successful through relay cropping in the district.
