Pradeep Singh is a farmer from Jaurasi village in Taoru block, Nuh district, Haryana. His family’s main source of income is farming, and they own five acres of land where they grow wheat, mustard, millet, and vegetables. Traditional agricultural practices do not generate enough profit for the farmer’s family despite their tireless efforts.
Under an ongoing CSR-supported project in Jaurasi, implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation since April 2022, sustainable broccoli farming, one of the agricultural interventions was discussed in a Village Development Committee session in September 2022. Pradeep expressed interest in participating in this demonstration and was selected for it. For half an acre of his land, Pradeep was provided with broccoli seeds and micronutrients such as zinc, sulfur, calcium nitrate, and others. Pradeep also received training on broccoli farming in the field office together with other farmers.
Pradeep harvested 2,500 kg of broccoli in half an acre of his demonstration plot from which he earned approximately INR 70,000 in total sales. His cost of cultivation in half an acre was INR 15,000. Thus his net profit was INR 55,000.
Earlier, in the same piece of land, he used to obtain five quintals of mustard worth approximately INR 27,250 (INR 5,450 per quintal). Hence Pradeep has doubled his income by switching to the cultivation of a high-value crop like broccoli in place of traditional crops like mustard or wheat.
Pradeep says, “I will continue sustainable broccoli farming in more area of my land and will also encourage other farmers to grow high-value crops in a sustainable manner.”
(Story by Prashant Shukla, agriculture specialist and Shashank Devra, project lead)
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