Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
Manoj Oraon has always admired people who have had the courage to break away from their humdrum lives and start something new. Or those who have returned to their roots with fresh ideas and have not shied away from trying new things.
The idea to do something different came to him in an unlikely spot, a sports gear shop in Ranchi, the state capital of Jharkhand. It was 2014 and Manoj went there to buy roller skates.
“It was the same shop from where cricketer Dhoni used to buy his bats! I saw that the shop owner’s son who had just completed his MBA had joined his father’s enterprise instead of leaving home and getting a job elsewhere. I thought I should join my father, a farmer, and perhaps bring new ideas into agriculture,” he told Gaon Connection.
Through a series of experiments and innovations, the 29-year old Oraon tribe member now earns a profit of Rs 5,00,000 in two months of a year from cauliflower alone.
Manoj’s family owns two acres of land in Bundu village, about 50 kilometres from Ranchi, and he leases another three acres in the village to cultivate cauliflower for two months in a year. In the other months he grows millets and seasonal vegetables. Cultivating different crops keeps the soil healthy and he earns handsome profit too.
“The cauliflower is reaping me a turnover of Rs 5,00,000, which wasn’t possible if I had continued cultivating staple crops like millets. The trick lies in sowing the crop when the demand is at its peak,” Manoj said, who had recently come to Jamshedpur to attend the annual tribal conclave, Samvaad, organised by Tata Steel Foundation.
Returning with a Resolve
“That day when I returned from the sports shop in Ranchi, I began to think of farming as an entrepreneurial venture. I decided to gather information about crops that were better suited to the family land,” narrated Manoj.
Through a series of experiments and innovations, the 29-year old Oraon tribe member now earns a profit of Rs 5,00,000 in two months of a year from cauliflower alone.
“I talked to my father about diversifying our crops as even after years of labour we were not getting much profit. Cultivating ragi (finger millets) and bajra (pearl millets) just ensured that we have enough food to eat round the year. But what about expenses for education, fertilisers and insecticides? My father agreed with my proposal to change over to other more profitable crops,” Manoj said.
The young farmer assessed the vegetable markets in Ranchi and took stock of the prices in various seasons. He finally zoomed in on cauliflower as the produce best suited for the soil in his field.
“I realised that the secret to getting good profits from the vegetables is by sowing it at a time the demand is about to peak. Sowing a month early or a month late can make a big difference and the farmer needs to have market insight from the traders,” he said.
After talking to wholesale traders of vegetables, the 29-year-old decided he would grow cauliflowers. He realised the thing to do was sow cauliflower in enough time so that they are available in the markets long before the winter months (when markets are flooded with cauliflower).
Manoj found that July-August recorded the highest wholesale prices for cauliflower — Rs 90 a kilogramme.
“I sowed the seeds in April. It takes at least two months for the cauliflower to ripen and grow to its full size. This way I was ready with my harvest in July and August when sale prices are at its peak,” he said.
Overcoming Initial Hurdles
The switch to growing cauliflowers was not easy. Initially, in 2015, the output was less than satisfactory. The cauliflowers were small and of inferior quality. “We were ridiculed. Told we should not have overreaching ambitions. It was disheartening but it motivated me to do even better next year. We realised that our sowing was premature. We should have waited for mid-April before planting,” the young farmer said.
Next year, Manoj sowed the seeds after consulting with scientists at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Bundu block of Ranchi.
The results were far better and there were good lessons learnt, smiled Majoj.
Till 2016, he cultivated cauliflower on two acres of land but from 2017 onwards, his family expanded cultivation to another three acres of land they took on lease at Rs 10,000 per acre per month.
“In 2016, we earned profits worth Rs 1,50,000. The villagers who laughed at us stopped laughing. Today, we earn annual profits up to Rs 5,00,000 by working two-three months,” he added.
Manoj’s family owns two acres of land in Bundu village, about 50 kilometres from Ranchi, and he leases another three acres in the village to cultivate cauliflower for two months in a year.
Also, he conveyed that if the government provides farmers with the information about the market, more farmers will record better profits.
“The government should regularly update farmers about the timing of sowing crops. Market intelligence should be easily accessible to the farmers so that they can earn better and live with respect,” he said.
Manoj gets the seeds from suppliers in Delhi, Punjab and Bhopal. He also takes care to vary the brand of the seeds as he explained sowing the same kind could affect the quality of the soil.
“I want to prove that adivasi people can also progress while staying connected to their roots. I am also trying my best to train other farmers in growing cauliflowers and help them prosper,” he said.
Apart from being a farmer, Manoj also dreams of becoming a lecturer. He already holds two post-graduate degrees — one in Geography and the other in Folklore.
