Alumnus Ravi Singh Choudhary, revolutionizing rural economy in Jharkhand through innovative farming techniques

Agriculture and its allied industries are one of the largest contributors to Indian economy with 58% of our country’s population dependent on it for their livelihood. In spite of the huge dependence on the sector, one extremely worrying trend of ’Indian Agro Brain Drain’ is slowly emerging.

According to research, in 2016, the average age of Indian farmers were 50.1 years as the next generation of farmers in India are quitting their profession. According to the 2011 Census, every day 2,000 farmers give up farming.The youth among the farming communities are hardly interested in agriculture — so much that a majority of students graduating from agricultural universities switch to other professions.

To combat this situation and to ensure sustained food production in the future it is imperative that Indian youth take renewed interest in the sector bringing in fresh ideas and new innovative technologies.

Ravi Singh Choudhary, an alumnus of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Bokaro, Jharkhand is making great strides in the field of agriculture through his non profit company ‘Sampurn Krishi Utthan Foundation’ in Rachi.

The B. Tech Mechanical engineer and National Innovation Award winner, started his journey in the year 2017 from his own small farm growing organic strawberries and corn. Ravi’s first foray in the field of farming was nothing short of disastrous, when farmers unknowingly used DAP, in place of vermicompost in the field resulting in the death of most of the crops and making the soil almost unsuitable for agriculture. The lack of knowledge among farmers regarding organic farming was the sole reason behind the mishap.  Although with the help and support of his family members, Ravi was able to rebound from the setback but the incident acted as an eyeopener for him.

Ravi on his uncle’s suggestion started to learn about the farming techniques of Israel, who are known for their advanced agricultural system. He also travelled across India, visiting several farms in his bid to know about the most effective techniques in agriculture. 

During this period he came in contact Shri Siddharth Jaiswal of Birsa Agricultural University Ranchi. Here he got to know about the usage of ‘cow urine’ as an organic fertilizer to prepare the soil. This knowledge laid the foundation for the innovative style of farming coined as ‘Amrit Krishi’ by Ravi. He also got to know how soil preparation for 5 months can yield crops for 15 years without the use of any chemical fertilizers. This method of farming which mimics the soil of fertile rain forests, results in more nutritious and better tasting crops than those grown with the aid of chemical fertilizers.

Armed with new knowledge, Ravi formed ‘Sampurn Krishi Utthan Foundation’, which gives training to farmers on sustainable, low cost organic farming and build organic farms. They also hold workshops on the same in different villages and institutions. The team is also responsible for helping SHGs and farming cooperative societies by providing them direct market linkage, making agriculture more profitable for the farmers.

Ravi hopes that his efforts will result in increase in the numbers rural entrepreneurs like him and make agriculture more profitable and sustainable in the future. He also believes that if the government and educational institutions give higher importance to sustainable agriculture and rural entrepreneurship, more youths will come forward to take up agriculture as their profession.

Ravi belongs to a family of farmers who were the first to introduce wheat farming in Bokaro district and feels proud to carry the legacy forward. 

Our country needs more promising youths like Ravi, who can take agriculture in India to the next level.

If you are a Vidya Bharati alumni and have a similar inspiring story to share, kindly email us at info@vidyabharatialumni.org and we will get in touch with you.