1 hr ago
Ferozepur Farmer Uses Crop Cycles to Boost Year-Round Farm Income
Manpreet Singh farms five acres in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Instead of growing just one crop on each plot, he plans several growing cycles through the year.
He raises young plants in nurseries and sells them to farmers who are ready to plant.
After a nursery cycle, he may grow a short-duration crop on the same land.
He also grows crops such as garlic and cucumber and keeps Murrah buffaloes.
Singh estimates his approach can earn more per acre than conventional wheat-paddy farming, but says returns depend on the crop and its market price.
He uses drip irrigation on most of his land and employs about 12 people.
Punjab Agricultural University recently gave him the Sardar Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Award.
He hopes to increase his income from the same land by using newer farming techniques.
Manpreet Singh, 34, uses successive nursery and crop cycles on his five-acre farm in Rahim Ke Uttar village, Ferozepur.
He estimates the model can generate Rs 6 lakh-Rs 7 lakh per acre annually, though returns vary with crops, costs and market prices.
His operations include vegetable, paddy and Basmati nurseries, short-duration crops, garlic and sugarcane.
He says nursery production followed by short-duration paddy or Basmati can return about Rs 3 lakh per acre over more than five months.
Singh employs around 12 people, uses drip irrigation on most of his land and received an award from Punjab Agricultural University.
- Who
- Manpreet Singh, a 34-year-old farmer.
- What
- He combines nursery production, successive crop cycles and other farm enterprises to earn from the same land throughout the year.
- Where
- Rahim Ke Uttar village in Ferozepur, Punjab.
- When
- He began farming with his father in 2007 and started raising onion seedlings in 2020.
- Why
- He aims to make existing land more productive and generate income through multiple crop cycles.
Key facts
- Farm size
- Five acres
- Estimated annual return
- Rs 6 lakh-Rs 7 lakh per acre, according to Singh
- Nursery customers
- Around 250, mainly farmers buying ready-to-transplant seedlings
- Paddy and Basmati nursery area
- Around 2.25 acres, used twice for nursery production during the season
- Employment
- Around 12 people, including three permanent workers
- Dairy herd
- Around 10-12 Murrah buffaloes
- Award
- Sardar Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Award from Punjab Agricultural University
Quotes
Manpreet Singh
Farmer from Rahim Ke Uttar village, Ferozepur
“We plan almost the entire year. We use the land whenever it becomes available and choose a crop suitable for that period, while ensuring that the land gets some rest between cycles.”
indianexpress.com
“The lesson is not necessarily to own more land, but to find more ways of earning from the land one already has.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
Related news
Punjab’s Domestic Fruit Orchard Model Offers Food and Income
Punjab Brothers' Three-Crop Model Ends Six Years of Stubble Burning
BBA Graduate Turns Failed Wheat Crops Into Vegetable Success
Fazilka Farmer Turns Debt Into Sheep And Agroforestry Success
Bengaluru Farmer Supplies Baby Bottle Gourds to Qatar
Punjab Women Turn Small Farms Into Fisheries Enterprises
India Summons Pakistan Envoy Over Border Infiltration Dispute
Three Friends Arrested With 4 Kg Heroin Near Border
Punjab Congress Protests, Demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation
Judicial Probe Indicts Four Bathinda Cops Over Custodial Torture