Ashok’s innovative ideas change horticulture in Bihar

Patna: Farming is always considered a less profitable business. Smart farming and the application of modern techniques have changed the complexion of agriculture. Ashok Kumar is a 76-year-old farmer from Biharsharif, Bihar. He had given a new look to farming, encouraging others to adopt modern techniques and earn more income.

After completion of his education, he decided to be a farmer. Despite no formal training, he involved himself in horticulture, experimenting with new crops. In the beginning, he started growing Singaporean bananas. Later in the 1980s and 1990s, he became a noted personality in banana farming. Ashok introduced many new varieties of bananas, such as Malbhog, Martaban, Jahaji, Rovesta, and even red bananas, which were unknown in the area before.

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His success story helped locals get jobs, and his bananas started getting popularity across the state. He gave up banana farming; after that, Ashok once again returned to horticulture with a new plan. This time he grew lucrative dragon fruit, a crop that was never grown in that area. Currently, the dragon fruit farming has been covering over 7 acres of land.

His work has given an encouragement to the farmers’ community in the state; many of them are taking a keen interest in dragon fruit farming. Ashok Kumar always tried to do something new, so he adopted modern technologies, giving him a huge income. What started as a small experiment has grown into a successful business that supports his family and the local economy.

Ashok’s Jain Agro Farm has been experiencing a huge increase in production. His farm produced 1 metric tonne of dragon fruit in 2017, which made huge progress and reached 50 metric tonnes in 2023. His high-quality products have got appreciation from experts as well.