Success Story: The family members thought that he would become a doctor but the son made a career from the fields, gave a new dimension to organic farming.

Mahasamund News: Chhattisgarh is called the rice bowl. Has always been a pioneer in the matter of farming. Traditional agricultural knowledge, fertile soil and rural lifestyle have given the state a strong identity in the field of agriculture. Now the youth of the state are also playing an important role in carrying forward this tradition. With higher education, modern skills and new outlook, young farmers are engaged in making farming a profitable and respectable profession. Lakshmi Narayan Pradhan, a young farmer from Millarabad village of Basna area of ​​Mahasamund district, is included in this category, who dedicated his life to farming despite having many options for studies.

The family thought that he would become a doctor!
Lakshmi Narayan tells that his primary education was in Jagdishpur. After this he came to Raipur and studied physiotherapy at graduation level. He also completed a journalism course from Sikkim Manipal University. Being the elder of two brothers, the family expected him to pursue a career in the medical field, but he decided to pursue traditional farming as his career. He says that farming is not only a livelihood but also a heritage and its conservation is also the responsibility of the young generation.

This tradition has been going on from great grandfather
The tradition of organic farming has been going on in Laxmi Narayan’s family since the time of her great grandfather. While with time most of the people became dependent on chemical fertilizers, his family is still doing pure organic farming instead of urea, DAP and other chemical fertilizers. He believes that chemical farming may give fast production in the initial phase, but it can be harmful in the long run. On the other hand, in organic farming, the production is slightly less in the first one or two years, but within three years the yield becomes normal and the quality of the crop remains excellent. Due to this, better price is also obtained in the market.

In 27 acres there is only paddy and…
From the year 2015-16, Lakshmi Narayan started adding his own innovations in organic farming. Weed control is a big challenge in organic farming, for which they do manual weeding. Due to this, the structure of the soil remains safe and the quality of the crop is also not affected. Their dry season starts in the month of June, in which they make balanced use of traditional and modern techniques. Lakshmi Narayan told that they are doing completely organic farming of paddy in 27 acres, mango orchard in 5 acres, palm oil scheme in 5-7 acres, pigeon pea in 10 acres, moong in one and a half acres and sugarcane in 3 acres.

These are the benefits of getting organic certification
Lakshmi Narayan says, getting organic certification not only increases the price of their crops but also increases confidence among the buyers. This can become a powerful means of doubling the income of farmers. He believes that crops grown through natural farming are beneficial for health and their demand is continuously increasing in the market. His hard work, dedication and scientific approach have today become an inspiration for other farmers of the village.