A farmer’s simple fundas!

Just like Batman is Bruce Wayne’s secret identity, Bengaluru based IT professional and engineer — Chetan Desai has a different identity too. During the week, he’s nine-to-five working professional, but on the weekends, he turns farmer. Chetan became a farmer with the main motive to prove to himself and people around that farming can be respectable and profitable. Curious to find out what he does? Read on...

Before Chetan started his journey, he came across an article that spoke of 100 acres of farmland, planted with cabbage left to rot. He says, “This was due to low prices at the mandi. While I was appalled, it also caught my attention. I couldn’t digest the fact that so much land was going to waste.”

His journey began with extensive market research before actually getting his hands dirty on his farm. “There was no collective way of farming. And the only way forward is through education. Since I am not a farmer, I decided to lead by example and have a hands-on experience, “ says Chetan.

 He has been living in Bengaluru for the last 15 years and travels to his farm in Belgaum during the   weekend or every 15 days.  Talking about the type of farming that he has adopted he says, “At my farm, I follow a zero-budget farming that replicates nature. It uses things like cow dung and urine, jaggery and besan which is also called Jeeva Amrutham.” Initially, Chetan was met with  skepticism when he decided to start farming. He says, “My parents were doubtful. Friends thought that it was a waste of time and I was not cut out for it. But later on, the results that I got made up for it.”

Talking about how life has changed for him after he started, “I noticed a huge change. Apart from my overall well-being, I have started to appreciate the food on my plate. I can teach my kids to respect what they eat,” he says adding that there is a childlike happiness to getting your hands dirty.

Chetan also mentions that his kids are actively involved on the farm as well. “My son and daughter love spending time there. It becomes like a short family vacation for them each time we visit. We had recently harvested  methi that my son helped clean it. And my daughter loves feeding the cattle there,” he shares adding that at times it becomes difficult to get them indoors.

A native of Belgaum, Chetan mentions during his conversations with Uber and Ola drivers, he found that most of them come from a farming background. He says, “They come to the big city in search of work. I have come up with an initiative for these drivers where they too can become weekend farmers using the natural farming method.”