Hukumchand Patidar, a class 10 dropout from Rajasthan is said to be designing the organic agriculture curriculum for agricultural colleges in India. A farmer from Manpura village in the Jhalawar district of Rajasthan, he was congratulated by Padma Shri in 2018 for his work to promote organic farming on his farm, Swami Vivekananda Jaivik Krishi Anusandhan Kendra.
He has also been a consultant to the four agricultural colleges in Rajasthan on the subject of organic farming. Patidar started organic farming in 2005 even though his family and friends were against it due to fear of loss. He started organic farming on a small piece of land on a 25-hectare farm. Now, he has helped turn his hometown of Manpura into a completely chemical-free agricultural patch.
Patidar’s organic produce garners a 40 percent higher rate than crops grown using the conventional farming method, IANS reported. He claims to use ‘panchgavya’ or the five elements derived from cows to improve soil quality and make crops healthier. School dropouts now make millions and export the products to Japan, Germany and Switzerland.
He is currently working on modules that will be introduced into the syllabus. This includes natural and cow manure-related agriculture which is currently being worked on and will be introduced in schools, colleges and universities, Patidar said. “Our ancient texts and manuscripts taught me facts about organic farming and I will share the same with my colleagues on the panel,” he told the news agency.
He turned to organic farming after realizing that conventional farming methods were proving dangerous to people’s health and the environment. “I realized that the productivity of the land was falling with conventional agriculture that uses chemicals and the soil was being damaged and the crops were becoming poisonous,” he told IANS.
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The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) has now included him in the national curriculum committee due to his expertise in organically growing oranges, pulses, onions, coriander and fennel, many of which are exported to Europe. He had introduced several measures to improve the carbon cycle of his farm, and the conditions on his land have become more conducive to the “growth of microorganisms and insects that make the soil fertile,” he said.
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