Arshdeep Bahga and his father, Sarbjit Bahga, wanted to return to their roots and establish a sustainable and biologically diverse organic farm that could be an example for other farmers in the area. This approach aims to improve farmers' lives by raising their income and introducing them to organic farming.
A New Approach To Organic Farming
Arshdeep, a tech entrepreneur, spent six years as a researcher at Georgia Tech in the United States before returning to India in 2016. Sarbjit, on the other hand, worked for the Punjab government as an architect for 41 years and had a great career.
The pair came up with the concept of building a farm that combined old organic farming practices with a mixture of modern technologies, motivated by a desire to improve agricultural patterns in the area and boost farmers' income.
The Idea Behind the Establishment of Bahga Farm
During 2019-2020, the Bahga Farm was established as an organic farm. Arshdeep and his father interacted with the farmers in the neighborhood and realized that the extensive use of chemicals was destroying the soil fertility and farming lands.
Many farmers had ruined their farms and over-exploited groundwaters due to a lack of knowledge and expertise which has resulted in water table decline.
There is considerable opportunity for growth and wonderful food in the area of lush soils sprinkled with yellow mustard seeds. However, this is frequently harmed by methods that aren't long-term and conditions that aren't well-studied. Arshdeep and his father came up with one such approach in their search for a means for farmers to maximize their revenues.
Findings and Productivity of Bahga Farm
Farmers can diversify their farming patterns rather than restricting themself to a wheat rice monoculture on a five-acre plot, according to the duo's idea. For instance, if a farmer owns a five-acre plot of land, it can be divided into one-acre parts for different crops. Not only is this diverse cropping strategy sufficient to meet up to 90% of food requirements, but it also provides maximum income from the very same piece of land.
Integrated Agricultural System That Generates a Yearly Market Value of Around Rs 2,90,000 / acre
They were able to generate vegetables, herbs, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, and eggs from poultry using the one-acre farm concept. This integrated farming system can generates a yearly market value of around Rs 2,90,000 per acre, meeting and exceeding the required amount that farmers would need to buy food.
Creating a Sustainable and Bio-Diverse ORGANIC FARM: Case Study of a 1 Acre Model Farm in India, a book written by the two, discusses the findings and methods of this sustainable model. It details their experiences building the farm and cultivating nutritious, organic, and natural, farm-fresh veggies and it can be used as a resource for anyone interested in starting their own organic farm.
