Success Story: Vinay Kumar of Bihar made huge profits by cultivating sugarcane, earning 20 lakh rupees annually
Success Story: Vinay Kumar, a progressive farmer, comes from the Begusarai district of Bihar’s Chhoudahi block. He began farming in 1970 and has continued to work in agriculture ever since. He has ten acres in all, and he uses that space to grow a variety of crops in an innovative manner. On three acres, he plants sugarcane; on the other two acres, he grows rice, wheat, and coarse grains. Aside from this, he has cultivated fish in a 2-acre pond and cultivated gardens on two acres. His farming yields a profit of around Rs 20 lakh per year and include food cultivation, fish farming, and horticulture. Tell us more about progressive farmer Vinay Kumar in this circumstance.
Assistance from scientists
Progressive farmer Vinay Kumar said that agricultural experts have greatly contributed to current farming practices. This greatly aided him in bringing down the cost of farming. We received information on reducing crop tillage from agricultural scientists. Aside from this, he said that we had made excellent money from the crop without plowing for three or four years, thanks to the assistance of experts.
High yield with little plowing
He said that even today, with less plowing on our land, we are still receiving decent yields. Many individuals and farmers agree that better crop growth is facilitated by deeper, more thorough field plowing as well as plowing using innovative approaches. But in my opinion, no. Even with less plowing, I’m still receiving nice yields. He said that a decent field plowing job accounts for the majority of a typical farmer’s revenue. So I make an effort to save costs by doing less plowing.
Sugarcane cultivation done using new technology
Vinay Kumar, a forward-thinking farmer, is growing sugarcane using a novel technique. Using a cutter, he removes the eye from the sugarcane (a sugarcane has seven to ten eyes) and stores it in a glass filled with a mixture of straw and dirt. When a few plants, or seeds, sprout after 20 days, he brings the seed to the prepared field and plants it there. The sugar mill purchases the leftover sugarcane waste. Vinay Kumar’s planting costs have decreased by 80% as a result. Currently, just six quintals of sugarcane seed are used per acre, as opposed to the previous practice of using 25 quintals. There is only 1% gapping when farming using this strategy, as opposed to the 20% gapping that occurs when seeds do not germinate when farming using the old way. because I don’t grow the harmful plant.
Using this farming strategy results in a 25–30% boost in productivity. According to him, farming using this technique may provide revenue of up to five lakh rupees, but the cost per acre is one lakh rupees. There is a profit of four lakh rupees per acre in this method. He now has three acres under cultivation for sugarcane.
According to progressive farmer Vinay Kumar, farming won’t be lucrative until farmers stray from the conventional approach. He said that in addition to farming, he also gardens. He is now cultivating apples, bananas, guavas, and amla. He said that some of his apple trees had dried up from lack of knowledge, but the other plants had begun to grow fruit. He recently took part in a four-day training session held in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, where he learnt all the ins and outs of contemporary apple production. He is growing apples of the Hariman-99 kind.
Growing organic food is lucrative
He said that farmers must lower costs if they want to boost revenue. In an effort to save expenses, I have begun to practice organic gardening. My current fertilization strategy, which combines 50% chemical and 50% organic fertilizer, has improved soil fertility and enhanced productivity. In addition, the price has dropped dramatically.
Drip irrigation for irrigation
He informed me that I use drip irrigation, which has greatly lowered my irrigation expenses. This technology requires minimal labor costs and irrigates the land quite rapidly. The government has given me an 80% subsidy for a drip irrigation system.
Make money from farming
When it comes to earnings, Vinay Kumar makes around Rs 20 lakh a year from gardening and farming. Through Krishi Jagran, he made a plea to the farmers, telling them that by lowering the cost of their produce, they could boost revenues. In order to do this and get more and more knowledge, they need to speak with agricultural experts and successful farmers.