In 2008, soon after the severe drought that hit Varanasi, Amit Kumar Singh thought that he could no longer afford to continue farming his land. Singh’s passion is agriculture, and he even holds a degree in the subject. But the drought was all set to douse his passion. He thought he might have to stick to his job at a multinational farm input company for many more years.

However, a visit sponsored by his company to Uzbekistan in 2009 helped change his mind. He had the opportunity to study and understand how farmers in that country used collective and group farming methods to better their lives.

In 2011, he started Green-N-Fresh, a co-operative model for regular income to farmers through vegetable and fruit cultivation. It started with 25 farmers cultivating 50 acres. Today, it has 700 farmers working on over 1,000 acres in three districts.

“As a marketing executive for a company, I have seen how farmers have commercially benefited from coming together in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. We also got inspiration from the marketing techniques of Pazhamudir Cholai in Tamil Nadu. We will soon launch our retail outlets, which will help farmers combat middlemen. We also plan to start a factory to produce industrial sugar from broken rice,” Singh said.

Singh felt that similar experiments can be replicated across the country. “Proper evaluation of the soil, best quality seeds and saplings, and collective use of information and technology will reduce input costs and increase the margins. Issues like farmer suicides will become a thing of the past if governments start supporting farmers’ collectives.”

The group believes technology can solve many of the issues faced by Indian farmers and bring them prosperity. Seedling development was a key problem in Varanasi. “We started a poly-house, which is serving as the seedling point for farmers in the area. We give them best quality saplings of tomato, chilli, cucumber and other vegetables,” said Manish Kumar, a group member who is a postgraduate in agriculture.

The farmers’ group also became interested in cultivating fruits. “This area has a number of farmers cultivating banana, papaya, guava and mango. We started a carbide-free ripening unit for group members and have our own market now,” Singh said. The farmers talked to hotel managements in Varanasi and secured a steady market, he said.

The technology of plastic mulch is also gaining popularity here, thanks to the group. Triloki Nath Tiwari, a group member, claims it doubled his farm income.

“I get ₹1 lakh from an acre by cultivating just tomatoes using the plastic mulching technology. Now I have shifted my children to a private school from a government school. I would be proud if they become farmers when they grow up. This is a job that gives you satisfaction and a world of your own.”

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