Hukumchand Patidar, a class 10 dropout from Rajasthan would be designing the organic farming curriculum for agricultural universities in India. A farmer from Manpura village in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district, he has been felicitated with the Padma Shri in 2018 for his work towards promoting organic farming at his farm, the Swami Vivekananda Jaivik Krishi Anusandhan Kendra.
He has also been a consultant to Rajasthan’s four agricultural universities on the subject of organic farming. Patidar began organic farming in 2005 even though his family and friends were against fearing loss. He started organic farming on a small patch of a 25-hectare farm. Now, he has helped turn his native village of Manpura into an entirely chemical-free farm patch.
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Patidar’s organic produce fetches him a 40 per cent higher rate than crops grown through the conventional method of farming, reported IANS. He claims using ‘panchgavya’ or the five elements derived from cows for the better quality of soil and to make the crops healthier. The school dropout now earns millions and exports the products to Japan, Germany, and Switzerland.
He is currently working on modules to be introduced to the curriculum. This includes natural and cow dung-related agriculture which is working on at present and will be introduced in schools, colleges, and universities, Patidar said. “Our ancient texts and manuscripts taught me facts on organic farming and I shall share the same with my colleagues in the panel,” he told the news agency.
He took up organic farming after realising that conventional methods of farming were proving to be dangerous for health of people and the environment. “I realised that land productivity was falling with conventional agriculture that uses chemicals and the soil was being harmed and crops were becoming poisonous,” he told IANS.
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The Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) has now included him in the national curriculum committee due to his expertise in growing organic oranges, pulses, onion, coriander, and fennel, much of which is exported to Europe. He had introduced several measures to enhance his farm’s carbon cycle, and his land conditions have become more conducive to the “growth of microorganisms and insects which are making the soil fertile,” he said.
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