Amandeep Singh is from district Ropar in Punjab. He said that he is a progressive farmer by profession. He has released a video on FTB detailing how he farms, how he conducts his business and he thanked Krishi Jagran for giving a platform where he and the farming community can come to know about each other.
Amandeep started his career in farming in 2011 and has continued with it till date. He started by growing garlic and then shifted to cultivating coriander and cauliflowers. When he started out with farming there wasn't much of a market for his produce. He grew turnip, spinach, radish and Fenugreek. He used to sell these products at the local vegetable mandi. Slowly some others joined him and a farmers group was formed. He introduced a nethouse in his farm in 2013 and started growing capsicum which was great success. In 2014, he introduced broccoli in his farm on trial which also succeeded. He then started to grow seedless cucumber.
It took him sometime to understand the system for farmers in his district. He did multi-cropping and as a 19 year old youngster he went about enthusiastically with his tasks. Customers liked his products because they were new and different and slowly a market developed for the products that he sold. He has diploma in Mechanical which he passed in 2014. He grew baby-corn from 2016-2017 and he learnt new marketing methods. He decided to open his own retail outlet "City Fresh" to sell his farm produce.
With experience he chose multi-cropping as the method to work his farm with. The reason being if one crop failed he could rely on other crops. If one of the products were not in demand in market he could sell others which are in demand at the right prices. He grows 6 different crops at a time. The crops that he grows can be used to make variety of salads. Out of total production 60-70% crops are put for sale.
Slowly he got well connected with few stores at the mandi and they helped him in marketing. He then decided to open his own outlet which was designed by designers with overseas experience. His outlet looks like a European "fruit and veggie" store. He said he sometimes purchases products from other farms but he prefers and gives priority to his own produce. He tries to sell all type of seasonal veggies grown organically and are pesticide free.
He then described his multi-cropping method in great details and how he divides his available farm land between the crops. He also follows crop rotation growing fruits and veggies as per the seasons. He grows fruits like melons and watermelons at his farm. Last year he experimented with yellow watermelon which fetched 5 times the average price, as the product was something new and different for the customers and he was extremely satisfied with his earnings.
He said we are now "family farmers" like "family doctors" having built certain reputation and standards. He said there are not only the local mandi but there are rotational mandis held once a week which provide space for sellers. This gives you almost 16 opportunities in a month to showcase your produce. Even if you earn a few thousand per trip, you are bound to earn a reasonable income per month. He said he is not a servant and he is not a boss, he is just a small landowner providing fruits and veggies to the public. He said you can easily earn Rs. 16,000 per month, where in a job you may be able to earn Rs. 8,000 per month. The benefits of working for yourself are immense and will be clearly visible over your career.
He started with 2 and now has 150 regular customers. He is associated with Agriculture Research Project of the IIT institutions. He is connected with a number of such institutions. He has a concept of "future farming" which he wants to implement as "Future Agri Punjab Farms". He hopes to complete this project in two years time. He said he wants to find a way so that the farmers get stable income regularly like an employee's salary. He said you must market your produce yourself as it will increase buyer's confidence in what he is buying.
He again talks of advantages of multi-cropping. He said if you grow just one crop, at the time of sales you are supposed to sell all of it at same time. However if you have multiple crops you can sell them at different periods of time. With experience he has built a system of multi-cropping farming. He knows which fruits and veggies to grow in which season and over how much part of his farm land to devote to which crop. For this purpose he makes a chart of what crop to be planted where in the farm and in what season. He said multi-cropping and crop rotation maintains and enhances the soil fertility.
He even has a system for marketing. He is a firm believer in self marketing. He supplies his salad fruits and veggies to Chandigarh. His icebergs are very popular and even McDonald's buys crops from him. He has a juice section in his outlet which provides all types of fruits and veggie juices. You can request for any combination. This is an excellent example of food processing. He hopes that soon he will be able to produce everything that a basic kitchen needs himself.
Another plan which he plans to implement before this year's end is a seeds nursery, which will provide seeds for different agricultural methods, different soils and different seasons. He wants to provide high quality seeds in the market because he continues there are no quality seed shops around or shops that can be trusted. That is, you must as a seller identify the exact type of seed that will match the buyer's requirements. He said continuous learning and always offering something new to the customers is very important to succeed in business. He said we must focus on quality and not on quantity. He suggested that you can make QR codes for each fruit or vegetable and sell them easily. He said you must always grow your circle of farmers. In the end he once again thanked Krishi Jagran. Please click here to see the video yourself.
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