Integrated Farming System Is a Way to Success For Farm Woman Proves Amarjeet

Amarjeet is a 32-year-old graduate with 13 years of farming experience. She is a well-known progressive woman farmer in Adhoyi village, and agriculture is her primary source of income to meet her family's basic needs.

She used to work part-time on her father's family farm as a family member, but after her father became paralyzed in 2007, she took full control of her family farm.

She has 3.4 hectares (8.5 acres) of property with irrigation. She has a small dairy farm with two Buffaloes. On her farm, she has all the latest machinery, such as a Submersible Tube well, Tractor, M.B. Plough, Disc Harrow, Happy Seeder, DSR etc. She is also very active on social media, with her own website https://www.facebook.com/amarjitkaur.adhoi and YouTube channel (Woman farmer Amarjeet Kaur, Adhoi]).

Motivation & Training

Before coming into contact with Extension functionaries of the Agriculture Department and Subject Matter Specialists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Ambala, she used to produce conventional crops on her farm with average yields of different crops and animal enterprises. After that, she was exposed to the most recent improved new technical knowledge of agriculture, and her attitude towards agriculture changed, and she was motivated to pursue agriculture as an agri-business, incorporating all of the recent technologies to improve the production & productivity of her farm.

She participated in different training programs at KVK Ambala and received advisory services from the KVK staff and Agriculture Department experts.

Achievements

 On her farm, she mostly cultivates three cropping patterns and these are as follows.

• Rice-Wheat-Mong

• Sugarcane-Onion-Ratoon

• Potato-Onion-Fodder

2. With professional assistance, she is adopting Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs), Soil Testing and using better varieties of seeds for all crops, including Wheat, Chickpea, Mungbean, and Mustard.

3. In addition to using enhanced varieties, she performs seed treatment, followed by treatment with biofertilizers and resource conservation methods, in order to maximize returns and decrease cultivation costs.

4. Success in an integrated farming system with milk from a dairy unit, the use of vermicompost and vermiwash in crop production, bamboo stalking in cucurbit crops, and the cultivation of high-yielding fodder types.

5. Due to water constraints, she resorted to Kharif maize cultivation in place of rice crop in some areas.

6. Because of the changing climatic scenario and the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in crops, she shifted to the organic farming two years ago and received the technical Assistance from KVK team under the Pragya Krishi Vikas Yojna of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

7. She earns a good net income of Rs.6.7 lakhs per year from her crop and livestock enterprises.

Contributing Factors

Basically, her activeness, honesty, and hardworking attitude, as well as technical advice from KVK and State agricultural department officials, have contributed to her achievement. Her qualities, as well as timely technical advice and correct timely execution, have altered her life in ways, she never imagined.

Awards/Recognition

She has won several district-level awards from Hon'ble Ministers, Hon'ble MLA (Ambala City), Aseem Goel, Agriculture Department, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ambala, Rotary Club, and Prayas Sewa Sansthan, Barara etc.

Impact on Other Female Farmers

She is regarded as a progressive farm lady and Master Trainer for farmers in the district, and other female farmers are following her footsteps.