Father-daughter duo’s organic farming journey prompted by mom’s illness

Meerut: Sanjay Chauhan, now 50, had realised back in 2015 that his wife, Mamta Chauhan, was suffering from acute weight gain, knee pain and other health-related issues, and he felt that they were pesticide-induced. Following which, he and his younger daughter, Shubhavari Chauhan, who was 10 then, decided to produce food organically on the small portion of their 40-acre land. It later proved beneficial for Mamta.Subsequently, the duo decided to do organic farming on their entire 40-acre land in 2017 at Kothdi Bahlolpur village in Behat Tehsil of Saharanpur, said Sanjay Chauhan. Sharing the details, Shubhavari said, "During her illness, my mother could not even stand without assistance. It seemed to us that it had been happening due to the food produced by pesticide cultivation. Then, we grew some vegetables organically and ate them for about two months, which proved beneficial for my mother and confirmed our doubt, after which we gradually started organic farming. She is doing better now."Sanjay added: "Our major crop is sugarcane. We also have mango trees, pulses and spices, and we're producing strawberries for the first time. So far, our annual turnover is around Rs 10 lakh per year, which has increased in comparison to last year. We are expecting to make a revenue of Rs 25 lakh this year."Deputy director of agriculture in Saharanpur, Dr Rakesh Maurya, said, "Many in the region have been doing organic farming. We cannot say he is the only one. But yes, Chauhan is the pioneer. He is one of those who started organic farming in the region."Priyanshu Kumar, another villager, told TOI, "We are influenced by their farming technique and the benefits they have been getting. With our earlier method, we could only be able to sell ‘shakkar’ at Rs 3,000 per quintal, but organic shakkar’s market rate is somewhere around Rs 8,000 per quintal.”
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