R Madhavan IITians who preferred to be different, rather than get into a corporate rat race. One of the most interesting themes at this year’s Pan-IIT event was the session on rural transformation. IITians who have chosen an offbeat career hogged the limelight at the event. The star at the event was R Madhavan, an alumnus of IIT-Madras. This is Madhavan’s success story as a farmer. . .
Passion for agriculture
R Madhavan
I had a passion for agriculture even when I was young. I don’t know how my love for agriculture started. I only know that I have always been a nature lover. I used to have a garden even when I was a teenager. So, from a home garden, a kitchen garden, I gradually became a farmer! My mother used to be very happy with the vegetables I grew.
My family was against my ambition of becoming an agriculturist. So, I had to find a livelihood for myself. I wrote IIT-JEE and got selected to study at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. I enjoyed studying mechanical engineering. My intention was to transform what I study into what I love; mechanisation of farming. I felt the drudgery in farming is much more than in any other industry, and no one had looked into it.
I started my career at the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). My father refused to give me any money to start farming. So I asked the officials to let me work at the offshore sites, on the rigs. The advantage was that I could work on rigs for 14 days and then take 14 days off. I chose to work on the rigs for nine years, uninterrupted.
After 4 years, I saved enough money to buy six acres of land. I bought land at Chengelpet near Chennai. I chose that land because the plot had access to road and water. Back in 1989, a man in a pair of trousers aroused curiosity among the farming community. That was not the image of a farmer!
I became a full fledged farmer in 1993. It was tough in the beginning. Nobody taught me how to farm. There was no guidance from the gram sevaks or the University of Agriculture. I ran from pillar to post but couldn’t find a single scientist who could help me. I burnt my fingers. My first crop was paddy and I produced 2 tonnes from the six acres of land, it was pathetic. When I lost all my money, my father said I was stupid. I told him, it didn’t matter as I was learning. It was trial and error for me for three years. Until 1997, I was only experimenting by mingling various systems.
Learning from Israel
In 1996, I visited Israel because I had heard that they are the best in water technology. Take the case of corn: they harvest 7 tonnes per acre whereas we produce less than a tonne. They harvest up to 200 tonnes of tomatoes, whereas here it is 6 tonnes, in similar area of land. I stayed in one of the kibbutz, which is a co-operative farm for 15 days. I understood what we do is quite primitive. It was an eye opener for me. They treat each plant as an industry. A plant producing one kilo of capsicum is an industry that has 1 kilo output. I learnt from them that we abuse water. Drip irrigation is not only for saving water but it enhances your plant productivity. We commonly practice flood irrigation where they just pump water. As per the 2005 statistics, instead of 1 litre, we use 750 litres of water.
Dr Lakshmanan
I met Dr Lakshmanan, a California-based NRI, who has been farming for the last 35 years on 50-60,000 acres of land. He taught me farming over the last one decade. Whatever little I have learnt, it is thanks to him. I knew a farm would give me much better returns in terms of money as well as happiness. Working for money and working for happiness are different. I work and get happiness. What more do you need?
No guidance in India
I said at one platform that we have to change the curriculum of the agricultural universities. What they teach the students is not how to farm, but how to draw loans from a bank! What they learn cannot be transformed to reality or to the villages. The problem in the villages is not mentioned in the university. There is a wide gap and it is getting worse.
Making Profits
After burning my fingers for four years, from 1997 onwards, I started making profits. Even though it took me four years, I did not lose hope. I knew this was my path ven though I didn’t have any guidance from anyone. In those days, communication was slow. Today, I can get guidance from Dr Lakshmanan on Skype or Google Talk, or through e-mail. I send him the picture of my problem and ask his guidance. In those days, it took time to communicate. There was no Internet or connectivity. That was why it took me four years to learn farming. Today, I would not have taken more than six months or even less to learn the trick!
The farming cycle
I started crop rotation after 1997. In August, I start with paddy and it is harvested in December. I plant vegetables in December itself and get the crops in February. After that, it is oil seeds like sesame and groundnut, which are drought-resistant, till May. During May, I go on trips to learn more about the craft. I come back in June-July and start preparations on the land to get ready for August. In 1999, I bought another four acres. My target is a net income of Rs 100,000 per annum per acre. I have achieved up to Rs 50,000.
I sell my produce on my own. I have a jeep and bring what I produce to my house and sell from there. People know that I sell at home. I don’t go through any middle man. I take paddy to the mill, hull it and sell it on my own. In the future, I have plans to have a mill too. These days, people tell me in advance that they need rice from me. I have no problem selling my produce.
Engineering helps in farming
More than any other education, engineering helps in farming because toiling in the soil is only 20 per cent of the work. About 80 per cent of farming needs engineering skills. Science is a must for any farming. I have developed a number of simple, farmer-friendly tools for farming areas like seeding, weeding, etc. as we don’t have any tools for small farmers. If I have 200 acres of land, I can go for food processing, etc. My next project is to lease land from the small farmers for agriculture. The village will prosper with food processing industries coming there. My yield will also be more with more land.