(From left) Abhishek, Siddharth and Vikas. Telegraph picture

Patna, July 17: Four promising youths, with qualifications to match the corporate world demands, have instead decided to take up farming as a full-time occupation.

Fat pay packages and sought-after job profiles are not on the agenda of Abhishek Kumar, an alumnus of Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna, Siddharth Jaiswal, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, Shweta Rani, who is pursuing chartered accountancy, and Vikas Kumar who has completed his masters in economics from Magadh University. They want to do something worthwhile for their state and hence have launched a drive to promote organic farming on a mass scale.

Abhishek, who had placement offers from big firms while pursuing his MBA, decided to start his non-government organisation (NGO) — Agrani Foundation —in 2010. “I always wanted to do something for my state. I realised that while in bigger cities organic food was common, farmers in Bihar were not quite aware of such crops. As agriculture is a major occupation here, I thought it would be great if they can adopt organic farming which is cost effective and profitable,” said Abhishek. Organic farming relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity.

While Abhishek, who manages the marketing of the NGO, sought the services of Siddharth, another crusader of organic farming, for training and technical support.

Vikas and Shweta look after farmer co-ordination and finance respectively.

Just a year old, the team has been able to introduce organic cultivation in Ganai, Santhua and Pararia villages of Rafiganj block of Aurangabad and Barhampur village in Buxar. The idea is not only to promote organic cultivation but also link these products to retail chains and open organic food stores.

“We have tied up with Big Bazaar and talks are going on with Spencer’s. We also plan to set up four indigenous stores in Patna by October to sell the organic foodgrains and pulses,” said Abhishek.

“Initially, farmers are hesitant to adopt this form of cultivation but once they are explained in detail the economic viability of organic farming, they learn it fast and adopt it effectively. The training concentrates on preservation of seeds till the next season plus manufacturing fertilisers and pesticides using only organic ingredients,” said Siddharth.

Siddarth has a long experience in the field of organic cultivation. He has trained farmers in Ahmedabad, Samastipur, Siwan and other places.

Besides contributing to Agrani, Siddharth also runs his own organisation under the banner of Go Green House. He has also imparted training to prisoners in Sabarmati jail on organic farming practices in 2009.