Where There Is A Will There Is A Way: Natural Farming

Ajay K Sharma the founder and CEO of “Shri Raj Farms, “The organic World”, is CA by profession who didn’t hold himself back to earn a handsome income by pursuing his career. Rather he chose to follow his heart to be a farmer. He converted an exemplary farmland business model (Shri Raj Farms) from a piece of ordinary ancestral land in Jammu & Kashmir. He was determined that his ideology of “purity and traditional methods of farming” will repay him. He strongly believes that one can show his/her love to his/her motherland by cultivating it with all the best natural resources to conserve it for the coming generations and for the essence of purity in our lives.

He thinks that natural agricultural practices should be known to everyone and pursuing natural farming as a career will help to earn him enormous wealth and fame as well if follow with dedication. Let us go through his farmland business model and ideas and get to know how and what he works and what motivates him.

Mr Ajay K Sharma was born in a family where agricultural practices were pertinent as his grandfather used to sow everything required in the family. They were self-sufficient and all their needs were fulfilled in their field. In his childhood, he often spent his holidays with his grandfather in the field learning about plants, trees, crops, and methods of natural farming. With time, he started developing an interest in farming. After he made a career as a chartered accountant. After the retirement of his father from the job, he started this farm with a unique modern concept of organic farming cum dairy unit along with horticulture.

In 2014 he started the farm called Shri Raj Farms (at Nagri Bus Stand Kathua J&K) with a vision to make it self-sufficient where very less input is needed from outside. The farm is enriched with the following units:
(i) A 5.5 acre of Lychee and Lemon tree orchard
(ii) Vermicompost unit
(iii) Dairy farm of around 60 cattle, including 20 Indian Gir Cows.
(iv) Honey Beekeeping set up, with around 50 colonies of bees, which work as a natural pollinators for the farm.
(v) Organic Vegetable Production
(vii) Organic Cereals- Wheat and Rice
(viii) Gobar gas plant
(ix) A 13 KVA solar unit for the electricity requirement for running pump sets and domestic use.
(x) More than 5000 trees of eucalyptus and poplar on the boundary wall.
(xi) Rainwater and canal water harvesting channels to prevent soil erosion and conserve water.
(x) A variety of domestic birds and animals to make the place more appealing for visitors.
The moto of this farm “Shri Raj Farms” is to provide safe (unadulterated) and healthy food to consumers and make people aware of natural farming. He believes that agriculture is as attractive as other professions are. Thus, creating awareness for the same. Mr Ajay has witnessed that people are dependent on the market even though they have their own land. He is also engaging in motivating people to practice agriculture for their needs. A no. of people has convinced and followed his path.

He visioned to make this farm a role model farm, where one can get everything and he also tried to do every possible thing to inspire others and from where people can learn how to perform a particular agricultural task. He aims to make his farm an ideal one from which one can have the basic idea of the whole agricultural operation.

PROJECTS:
1. A 10-room accommodation in five different categories like Iglo shaped, treehouse, kaccha house, jungle house etc. to attract visitors to enjoy and understand the farm business. By the end of June, the project will be completed to host the guests. The objective is to make people aware of farming and have first-hand experience while staying at the farm. Interestingly, in the era of technological advancement of the internet, there will be no internet connection while at the stay. So, it will be a pleasant experience away from the chaos. They will have a good time embracing nature.

2. The farm prompts Indian Cows and Indian species of trees that otherwise have disappeared due to modern agricultural techniques. He has also distributed around 200 neem trees and fruit trees in the nearby area free of cost to all the farmers.

3. Mr Sharma accepts the fact that once people see a working model, they believe it easily, instead of making it theoretical the impression of practical remains for a lifetime. Poplar tree was a new concept a few years ago but now the farmers have seen the result of the yields and now earning a handsome income. People get motivated when they see other people succeeding. The aim is to succeed and motivate. Due to limited means, farmers always do not have the ability to experiment much, so it is better to show them a model with results to help them understand better.
Every farmland has some unique feature depending upon the area, locality and geography. Hence, he suggested to better understand the locality, take the help of KVK (Krishi Vigyan Kendra) and Govt. departments which provide their expertise to farmers.

‘Farm Stay’ and ‘Pick and Pay’ facility is also available at his farm. Farming is a science and people should know where the products are coming, from and what they consume. Still, there is a lot of work to be done to encourage people in this field. There is endless scope in this field. After COVID-19 people have started caring about what they eat. But they actually need to get guidance.

His secret to success in business is hard work and consistency. He believes, that once an idea is formulated in one’s mind, he/she shall start working for it right away instead of waiting for the right time also one should be cautious and courageous enough to chase dreams. Proper guidance will always add the cherry to the cake.
As per Mr Ajay K Sharma, organic or natural farming is paying and practical proposition.