Chartered accountant Rajeev Kamal Bittu could have easily led a luxurious life but instead he chose heat, dust, hard labour and risk as an agripreneur – to bring back respect to farming. "I set out myself on a mission to prove that anybody can do farming and it is not a lowly job," says 37-year-old Rajeev. It's a mission he has made a very successful one.
"I had sales of around Rs 40-45 lakh, of which the profit was around Rs 20-22 lakh
Farming has changed his life in every way. "I live in Ranchi and used to travel 28 km nearly daily to my farm in Kuchu village," says Rajeev. "Now I find it very difficult to bind myself within the four walls of my office. I would rather spend my time with nature. It gives a lot to my life."
Rajeev Kamal Bittu took to farming after his daughter reluctantly responded to a farmer who wanted to take her in his arms because he was wearing shabby, muddy clothes (Photos: Monirul Islam Mullick )
It all began in 2013, a life-changing year, when Rajeev went to his village in Gopal Ganj in Bihar along with his three-year-old daughter, Ritwika Kamal.
"She mingled with all the villagers," he recounts, "but hesitated when a farmer tried to take her in his arms, because he was wearing shabby, muddy clothes.
"Her reaction upset me and it hit me that our country's farmers toil hard to give us food, but they are still looked down upon and ignored." Rajeev vowed to earn worth and value for the farming community.
His life's journey had been very different until then.
Born in Gopal Ganj in the Siwan district of Bihar, Rajeev was the eldest of three siblings. His father, Birendra Prasad, was an engineer in the State government irrigation department at a salary of Rs 3,000, and as the eldest had the responsibility of his six siblings.
"My father's salary was spent on the family," Rajeev says.
After completing CA in 2003, Rajeev rented a space of around 150 sq ft at a monthly rent of around Rs. 5000 in Ranchi and started practising as a CA there. He earned an average Rs 40,000 a month and in 2009 he got married to Rashmi Sahay (30), a plastic engineer.
It was business as usual until that fateful day in Gopal Ganj.
A complete novice in the field, Rajeev began to research farming using multiple sources – the Internet, professors at the Birsa Krishi Agriculture university and local farmers.
Rajeev had to invest around Rs 2.5 lakh to bring the barren land into proper shape and get the paraphernalia for organic farming. "We farmed in seven acres of land, sowing watermelon and yellow melon in October-November 2013," says Rajeev.
At the end of daily hard labour over months, the crop, harvested by January-end 2014, sold for around Rs 19 lakh to the local fruit wholesalers and yielded a profit of around Rs 7-8 lakh.
Encouraged by this, Rajeev began to experiment, based on market study and his own instinct. He leased another 13 acres of land in Anandi village of Ranchi's Ormanjhi block at a rental of Rs 8000-Rs 10,0000 per annum.
"We sowed cherry tomatoes, sweet corn and sweet potatoes," he says. It was again a profitable venture and the wholesale market began to recognize him for his unique crops.
"I had sales of around Rs 40-45 lakh, of which the profit was around Rs 20-22 lakh," he says. In 2016, he leased yet another three acres in Kuchu in Ormanjhi at Rs 45,000 per year, to cultivate vegetables, such as cucumber, pumpkin and brinjal.
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