Tweaking and replicating the farming best practices of the Jewish state in his own farmland, he is now laughing all the way to the bank. It is like a dream come true to Patidar and gratitude runs deep for the initiatives in agriculture and farming taken by the Rajasthan government.
Patidar of Dhanwada village of Jhalawar district was one of the members of progressive farmers group sent to Israel in May 2016 led by state agriculture minister Prabhu Lal Saini Patidar learnt the tricks in setting up a greenhouse and developed the skill in sprinkle farming.
Patidar, in the first year, cultivated cucumber and generated a 10 fold yield. He made a cool profit of Rs 5 lakh.
"Earlier in open field when I would cultivate cucumber, the profit amounted to around 50,000," Patidar said adding when he noticed in Israel the farmers there, despite scarcity of water, were making huge profits just by applying the right technique.
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"The farming techniques in Israel inspired me greatly and instantly I made up my mind to use the same in my native land," he said.
This time, he used mulching sheets technology for cultivation of vegetables like ladies finger, brinjal and chilli. The technology worked wonders and his yield doubled, Patidar added.
"Farming and horticulture schemes run by the state government proved to be a boon to me and my family," Patidar recounts and added all these have brought in a transformation in life and also changed the attitude towards farming and agriculture.
"Money, not in thousands but lakhs, is now in my pocket after applying the farming techniques," he fondly adds.
"I attended GRAM - 2016 with my MCA degree holder son who after examining the advanced techniques and methods in farming and agriculture, decided not to seek a job but take up farming as profession.
"Now, the son is also engaged with me in agriculture works of the family," says Om Prakesh.
For 35-year-old farmer Jai Prakesh Mali of Arjunpura village of Kota district who availed the benefits of Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) has taken up advanced techniques with drip sprinkle system for cultivation in 24 bighas of agriculture land.
The plump that Jai Prakesh would cultivate earlier used to be of a small seize not more than 10 to 15 kilograms but now the seize of a plump is bigger and larger weighing from 40 kilograms to 60 kilograms.
'The cultivation of vegetables and plums are now an object of attraction', said Jai Prakesh proudly.
Besides, Jai Prakesh cultivates flowers in small beds of his agriculture land and has received district level award in 2013-14 for the same.