Farmer in the role of Marketing Guru for entire village

Value addition and processing are the mantras for his success

Kailash Chowdhary is a progressive farmer from Kiratpura village, Rajasthan. Despite his education only upto 10th standard, he applied marketing mantras for getting substantial price for his farming products. His concept of value addition through processing changed his life forever. Now, with the help of the Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana, Kailash is not only earning more, he is giving almost 70 people direct and indirect employment.

When he started farming years back, his main concern was how to survive with only 20 acres of his ancestral land. Then he got a news that wheat is sold at double price in the Jaipur what he was selling to a local commission agent. On visiting the shop, he found that it was the same wheat. Only difference, it was graded and packaged properly. He did the same and sold it at a better price. After that he started food processing plant from a small room in his village with investment of just Rs one lakh in year 2004. While his sincere efforts kept him moving on the path of progress, technologies and technical know-how from CIPHET has strengthened him to develop international quality products through food processing.

Kailash says that association with CIPHET was a significant turning point in his life. In year 2006, he got various amla grading and punching machines designed by the CIPHET. Besides, he also took consultancy for processing technologies of various food products. This helped him to produce international quality products. At present, Kailash is not only producing products like amla juice, amla powder, aloe vera juice, candies, squashes, pickles, sweets but also exporting to countries like USA, U.K, U.A.E and Japan under brand name of KS BIO FOODS.

Interestingly, he himself is growing plants of amla, aloe vera plants from his organically certified fields to be processed and packaged in the processing unit established at his own farm.

His two sons are also finding prosperity in agriculture and food processing. State awardee farmer has inspired numerous colleagues in his state to take new route in agriculture- food processing and organic farming.

His success not only confined to his own prosperity and but he is committed to bring revolution in his entire district. He has formed a Jaivic Krishi Utpad Mahila Sahkari Samiti in Kiratpura for women empowerment; he has also formed a group of 1500 farmers actively engaged in organic farming and food processing. ‘Not only in my village, but all villages in Tehsil Kotputli have stopped flood irrigation. Drip irrigation is used in orchards and sprinklers for other crops. Besides, we harvest rainwater to ensure maximum availability of water,’ he said proudly.

(Source: NAIP sub project on Mass Media Mobilization, DIPA with inputs from CIPHET, Ludhiana)