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Gonda Latest News: Praveen Kumar Singh, a progressive farmer of Mankapur block of Gonda district, left traditional farming and adopted the method of co-cropping of potatoes with sugarcane and has set a new example by earning more profits with less hard work. Farmers who have been working on this method for about 10 years are earning lakhs of rupees today and many villagers, inspired by their model, are moving towards co-cropping.
Gonda: A farmer in Mankapur block of Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh has become the center of discussion with his modern farming methods. Progressive farmer Praveen Kumar Singh has left traditional farming of paddy, wheat, maize and adopted scientific and co-cropping farming. He is earning double the income at low cost by planting potato crop between the sugarcane rows. Other farmers of the area are also getting inspired by his experiment.
How did it start?
While talking to Local 18, Praveen says that he started sugarcane farming about 9-10 years ago. Seeing the empty space between the rows of sugarcane, he thought why not grow a fast-maturing crop. For this he selected potatoes. Initially he experimented in only 1 bigha, but got more profits than expected in the very first year. Inspired by this, he increased the area of co-cropping and today he is cultivating potatoes along with sugarcane in about 1 acre.
What is co-cropping?
Co-cropping means growing two crops together in the same field. In this, the productivity of the field increases and the farmer gets income from two crops at the same time. In sugarcane, there is a lot of empty space between the rows for the first 2–3 months, which can be easily used for crops like potatoes. Praveen uses sugarcane of 18231 variety of Shahjahanpur and potato of Pukhraj variety.
Why is cultivation of potatoes with sugarcane beneficial?
Better use of land:
The space left between the rows of sugarcane is absolutely useful for potato cultivation, due to which no part of the field remains vacant.
Low Cost – High Profit:
There is already moisture in the sugarcane soil, hence the cost of potatoes reduces significantly.
No effect on sugarcane growth:
Potato is ready in 70–90 days, due to which the growth of sugarcane is not affected.
Double Income:
Potatoes are sold first, which brings immediate income. Later the sugarcane is sold and there is huge income.
Farmer’s success story
Praveen explains that the cost of traditional farming had increased and profits were decreasing. After adopting co-cropping, not only did their income increase, but the risk also reduced. Now their annual income has reached lakhs and farmers of nearby villages are also inspired by this model and adopting it.
