Once known as a land where haathis (elephants) and saathis (Maoists) roamed freely, Sadma village in the Ormanjhi block of Ranchi district is now known for the millionaire Gansu Mahto, the most successful farmer of Jharkhand.
Gansu’s father had a 9-acre parcel of land, but its crops were barely enough to support the family. So, Gansu decided to stop his study after 12th class to work as a labourer.
In 1991, when he was just 18, he was working as a daily wage construction worker at Ranchi, where he would earn Rs.50 per day. He would travel 50 km. on a bicycle every day from Sadma to Ranchi and back.
Gansu worked as a labourer for three years and then he returned to his barren land and started toiling day and night to make it fertile. At first, he started by growing ‘GodaDhan,’ a type of paddy that can be grown on barren land.
The turning point came in 1998 when Gansu planted some capsicum in just 0.15 acres of land, which was a super success and he earned Rs.1.2 lakh from it that year. It gave him a glimmer of hope, and he kept experimenting with different crops. He also used to visit progressive farmers to learn from them and in 2015 while visiting one such farmer, he met a KrishiMitra—a government official employed to help& guide farmers—at his village, who advised him to join them for a 5 day training project at Chhattisgarh.
“The programme was being organized by successful farmers to help marginal farmers like us. We had to pay Rs.5000 towards travel and the stay, and it was a big amount for me in those days. But I wanted to take this chance. Looking back, had I not spent Rs.5000 then, I wouldn’t have reached 50 lakhs today,” says Gansu.
Gansu attended the project and learnt various tricks to start organic farming. He also learnt about how farming can become profitable even if the investment cost is almost zero. His biggest illusion that a barren land could never become fertile was also removed through this training.
1. First steps
Gansu returned with a dream of making his farm fertile. He toiled day and night for 15 days and provided all possible nourishment to the soil of his farm.
“I gathered all the dung from the cattle on the farm, made organic fertilizer and fed my land with the same. After 15 days, when the soil looked ready, I started planting watermelons,” told Gansu.
2. Kisan Credit Card
Gansu used his Kisan credit card to get a loan of 1.20 lakh. He used the money to install drip irrigation, mulching, and a greenhouse and poly house on his farm.
3. Drip Irrigation and Mulching
Gansu used the loan to install a drip irrigation system and mulching on his farm. He applied for Prime Minister KrishiSinchayeeYojana. Under this scheme, farmers can get a subsidy of 90% to install a drip irrigation system on their farm, so, Gansu ended paying only Rs.6000 per acre for this purpose.
4. Green House and Poly House
Gansu has set up poly house in 4000 square meters of his farm. Farmers can get a subsidy of 90% for this purpose as well.
“Poly houses help us grow unseasonal and exotic vegetables which have a huge demand in the market. The inside climate can be controlled, and hence lesser pest attacks are spotted here. Thus one hardly needs to apply pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The quality and taste of the crop cultivated inside the poly house is also better,” explains Gansu.
Turnover of Rs.50 lakh
The watermelons were ready to be reaped in 75 days, and all the above approaches gave him a superb quality and quantity of the harvest. Consequently, Gansu made a profit of Rs.2 lakh after selling them for a reasonable rate in the market.
After watermelons, Gansu planted capsicums at the same plot and earned Rs.4.5 lakh. Once Gansu was successful with vegetables and fruits, he thought of trying flowers and in 2016, he planted gerberas in his poly house. This year Gansu sold the flowers and earned Rs.35 lakh.
In 2018 Gansu planted capsicum in 2 acres, brinjals in 2 acres, tomatoes in 1.5 acres, cucumbers in 1 acre, cabbage in 0.50 acre land and paddy in the rest. Along with this, he planted gerberas.
His turnover from this was Rs.50 lakh and the total profit earned was Rs.20 lakh.
Today, Gansu is a successful farmer, but he has struggled hard. Now, he wants other farmers to follow the same path, without the roadblocks that he encountered.
“I did not have any aim in life before this. I would work to ensure there was food on the table. But now my life has an aim. I was lucky that I could meet the right people at the right time that changed my life. Now I want to change the lives of every farmer in my country. And I will do anything possible to ensure this,” he says.
So far, Gansu has given free organic farming training to almost 15,000 farmers. He also shares his knowledge with the agriculture students who visit him often. Many youngsters who had left their farms and village to work in the cities have come back to their roots after Gansu’s training.
Why are organic products expensive, and what can we do about it?
Gansu explains that at present, there is a high demand for organic produce in the market, but the supply is low. Hence, whatever organic produce is available in the market, is very expensive. But this issue can be resolved if we have enough supply to meet the demand.
Thus to change this situation, Gansu has pledged to divert at least 20,000 farmers in his area towards organic farming.
“It is a myth among farmers that organic farming gives lesser produce and hence, lesser profit. On the contrary, when you go organic, you save the money you otherwise spend on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, thus gaining better profit. Organic produce is healthier and tastier. If every farmer grows organic produce, the prices will automatically come down,” says Gansu.