In this era of the 21st century, where a better harvest relies on chemical-based agriculture, two brothers in a village of Mehlanwali near Ajnala in Amritsar have been conducting chemical-free farming using natural methods to grow sugarcane, turmeric, etc. for a longer time. They are serving as a role model for the rest of the farmers of their village.
Ranjit Singh and Ranjodh Singh grow pears, sugarcane and turmeric without using chemical methods in their ancestral land of 10 acres. Not only this, but they also transform the produced output by processing sugarcane into jaggery and turmeric into powder without utilising any chemicals.
One of the brothers, Ranjodh Singh, said that they were inspired by their father, Comrade Jagtar Singh, as he spent his time reading and doing social work after he retired from the Army. Passionate about Agricultural science, he participated in a camp on poison-free farming at Pingalwara, Amritsar, which granted him the opportunity to learn the hazardous effects of pesticides on health, soil and the environment, where he determined to grow without using chemicals.
Furthermore, Singh talked about the market challenges that they initially faced while trying to grow vegetables without chemicals, adding that there was no separate system for organic produce in local markets, as they were not paid additionally for chemical-free vegetables. Therefore, they grew 2.5 acres of pears, which didn’t require several pesticides, but they used some recommended treatments to stay competitive.
Currently, they grow sugarcane and process it into jaggery on 2.5 acres of land and the rest of the 2.5 acres of land has been used to grow turmeric and which will be further processed into powder by them. Interestingly, they are making people aware of the chemical-free food by building themselves as a brand through their naturally grown products.
In addition, hard work and family involvement are something that is needed in their sustainable farming. As Ranjodh Singh says, “Our family has been involved in farming for a year, and we are satisfied. Not only this, but we employ several people in the village, eliminating unemployment too. The pears that they produce naturally are sold as far as Kolkata to obtain a better price. Further, he expressed his desire to get help from the Punjab Government for setting up local processing units, leading to the income of more farmers and workers by maximising their profit and providing employment.
The idea of sustainable farming is that our country should currently adopt to achieve the goal of living healthier. However, this has been better executed by these two brothers from Mehlanwali village.