Former IT professional leads natural farming revolution in Araria | Patna News

Patna: In remote Bhima village in Araria district, a silent revolution of sorts is taking place these days, with most of the farmers taking to natural farming and creating a healthy agro-ecology in the region.The seeds of this ‘revolution’ were sown five years ago by a 34-year-old villager, Harsh Vardahn Thakur, who after quitting his 10-year-old job of software engineer in an MNC, started natural farming on 45 acres of land in his village.At a place where most of the farmers relied on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to secure their harvests, he undertook the challenge of growing chemical-free grains. Initially, he did not get much success in his venture, but with the passage of time, the villagers appreciated his initiative and started joining him one by one.Soon, with the cooperation of villagers, he formed an organisation ‘Bhima Kamat’ to expand his noble mission. In a couple of years, the organisation began shaping itself into an institution of learning and practice, where farmers could gain first-hand experience, from seed to soil to packaging. This platform now connects the organisation members with fellow farmers, self-help groups (SHGs), service providers, and customers, turning their doubt into opportunity. Today, the 45-acre farm in Bhima is more than an experiment. It has become a prototype of a rural ecosystem, rooted in soil health and sustained by the community trust, said Thakur.For Thakur, the master trainer leading the movement, the mission is not only to grow food but to make it affordable. “Operational efficiency in production and fair pricing are the key elements of successful natural farming. If natural food is priced out of reach, customers cannot buy them, and farmers cannot sustain the same,” he said.The initiative is at present working with more than 50 farmers from the local community as well as adjoining localities. It has attracted more than 800 regular customers of the produce grown naturally, with the demand consistently higher than the supply. The response is even greater as more than 1,500 farmers are ready to undertake natural farming on their 2,500 acres of land. However, natural farming on that scale would require much more than enthusiasm. The organisation is making sincere efforts to create fool-proof processes of capacity building, processing, packaging, storage, and delivery systems so that farmers engaged in natural farming get appropriate dividends for their produce. “We are striving hard to build bridges between farmers and customers, between rural livelihoods and urban tables, between tradition and innovation,” he added.