: UP Man Increases Earnings From Rs 11,000 to Rs 12 Lakh Through Banana Farming #IndiaNEWS #Agriculture Chandranath Pandey, a 51-year-old resident of Baldirai village of Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh,

UP Man Increases Earnings From Rs 11,000 to Rs 12 Lakh Through Banana Farming #IndiaNEWS #Agriculture
Chandranath Pandey, a 51-year-old resident of Baldirai village of Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, was hoping to find a “high-paying job in a big city??? to fulfil his dream of living a better life. While he did not get a job in the city, he still managed to achieve his dream through farming.
After earning his diploma in electrical engineering from Government Polytechnic Faizabad in 1988, he worked as an electrical engineer in a government office in Sultanpur, where he earned Rs 4500 monthly. Unhappy with his job and unsure of the scope of his career, he began working as a contractor in his village. Simultaneously, he also began farming his own land.
“As a contractor, I could not increase my earnings by much. I wanted to earn more to give my children a better education and a better life for my family. I also wanted to do something unique with my farmland and not just grow crops that are necessary at home like rice, wheat and veggies. I wanted to make it a profitable business,??? says Chandranath, who has dabbled in farming for almost three decades now.
By growing sugarcane, Chandranath was earning a profit of less than Rs 1 lakh, which wasn’t worth “the time taken??? or his efforts. So, he strived to find something unique, more profitable and low-risk and eventually stopped growing sugarcane in 2018.
About five years ago, Chandranath heard of Ram Saran Verma, who won the Jagjivan Ram Kisan Puruskar award for cropping varieties of banana in his farmland in Barabanki. He also won about 20 awards at district, state and national levels. Inspired by his success, Chandranath went to meet Ram to learn how to grow bananas efficiently and earn a profit.
After noting down the tricks of the trade from Ram, Chandranath began harvesting bananas in a quarter-acre plot of farmland. By the 14th month, the fruit was ripe for the picking and Chandranath yielded a profit of nearly Rs 4 lakh for the first time. Since then, he has been dedicating a quarter acre of land to grow bananas.
Chandranath Pandey poses in front of his banana farm.
Tips and tricks on banana farming
Chandranath reveals that banana farming is low-risk as every season is suitable for the banana plants. He says that even heavy rain can’t affect the crop. “It also doesn’t demand much care as compared to sugarcane or any other crop,??? he adds.
He further adds that farmers must be careful while buying compost fertilizer. He says that instead of believing medicine and fertilizer sellers blindly, farmers should consult experts before making such purchases.
He also suggests that farmers grow different crops in one place a phenomenon called crop-rotation.

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