At a time when people abandoning agriculture and migrating to towns and plains from the mountainous regions remains a major problem, a villager who changed his profession from that of a contractor to a farmer presents a picture of success and prosperity in the mountains of Tehri district.
Jagmohan Singh Kandari of the Ghansi Jagdhar village in Jaunpur area of Tehri district had started off as a contractor in his youth.
However, later on he took a chance and shifted to farming which has not only helped secure a regular and comfortable income for him, but has also provided employment to other villagers.
Considering his work, the previous State Government had also included him in the list of change makers who have set a progressive example for others through their hard work and achievements.
When asked about how he thought of farming, Kandari recalled that after passing his Class X examination, he started working as a contractor. “However, such work does not last long. One day I saw a Nepali man working in his field and noticed that he had a good yield of tomatoes. That seemed to be an eye opener for me as till then I had not comprehended the productivity of our soil for crops like tomatoes. I asked him about the various aspects of cultivating tomatoes and then tried to grow tomatoes on a small portion of my field. Then gradually, as the yields and sales of tomatoes grew, I increased the area I was growing it on. Tomatoes now cover about half of my fields on which I also grow fruits like mangoes and various other crops. I have been farming now for 17 years,” he said.
Though Kandari manages to derive a decent income from farming, he also faces some problems which prevent him and other farmers from progressing further. He said, “I manage to ear about Rs6,00,000 to Rs7,00,000 in a year from selling my farm produce.
The biggest problem we face is poor roads. We are unable to transport our farm produce conveniently. It requires a lot of energy and patience to tackle with situations resulting from such problems,” said Kandari.
When asked about what he would say to those abandoning farming and migrating from the rural mountainous regions to the urban areas in search of employment, he cited his own story.
He said, “I took chance while I was working as a contractor and shifted to farming. I feel that I made the right decision. This work has improved my own position to such an extent that now I also provide employment to other people. For my works, I have been felicitated twice by the Government- with 'Kisan Shri' in 2008 and 'Udhyan Pandit' in 2016. To those leaving their villages for cities, I would say that what they are looking for in cities is already available in their villages. One should know how to channelise the available resources. The youth should also become involved in this field. If our villages prosper, our nation will prosper,” he stressed.