Two IIT-IIM Graduates Have Left Their High-Paying Jobs To Revive Indigenous Paddy Farming

With more than 100,000 varieties of rice produced across its length and breadth, India was once considered to be a rice country. There was a time when the cereal provided over 60 per cent of the population.

Ishan (left) and Darshan talking to farmers.

Now, the hybrids that are produced give more yields but have taken over the indigenous varieties. Most farmers now cultivate only hybrid varieties.

But two young engineers - Ishan Pasrija (27) and Darshan Doreswamy (30) are trying to bring back the indigenous varieties to paddy to regular cultivation, and therefore, both of them have been working in rural hinterlands of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to convince farmers to adopt the varieties that have long been forgotten.

¡°Basically, we are trying to revive the cultivation of the indigenous varieties of paddy, which the farmers had stopped cultivating roughly two decades ago. But it¡¯s easier said than done, because hybrid paddy is all that farmers cultivate and it¡¯s quite difficult to convince to grow something which is harder to grow and also yields less,¡± said Ishan, an IIT Delhi alumnus.

Why indigenous paddy varieties?

With better nutrition quality and taste, the indigenous variety of paddy brings much more to the table of the end customer who consumes farmers crop. ¡°Hybrid varieties are indeed easy to grow and of course yield more in terms production. But indigenous varieties provide a better quality which eventually leads to better quality of life to both - the farmer who grows and the end consumer who eats it. Our objective is to make the difference to the lives of both as it will help the farmers get a sustainable livelihood while people will have healthy food on their plate which eventually leads to a healthy life,¡± said Ishan.

Both Ishan and Darshan are the Buddha Fellows - a fellowship programme run by NGO Srijan.

Hard to convince farmers

Both Ishan and Darshan had comfortable and cushy corporate jobs, but they left their jobs to make some difference in their life of farmers. ¡°Agriculture is anyways not lucrative anymore. People barely make ends meet and on the top of that people have the smaller land holding. But we have been making field visits for the last two months and have spoken to a number of farmers about cultivating the indigenous crops. All of them listen to us, but it¡¯s quite hard to convince,¡± said Darshan who is an alumnus of IIM Kashipur.

But first, they are trying to make it economically viable

Unless cultivating crops become economically viable, the farmers aren¡¯t going to cultivate it and since indigenous paddy varieties are costly to cultivate, it¡¯s hard to convince farmers to adopt indigenous varieties of rice.

¡°In order to make the cultivation of indigenous varieties economically viable for farmers, we have put our efforts. Unless we do it, it¡¯s very hard to convince farmers since growing hybrid paddy is making them ends meet,¡± added Ishan, who was the manager for Emami in east Bihar before leaving his job and taking up this fellowship.

Sought help from doctors AIIMS and Medanta

Most of the indigenous varieties of paddy have medicinal qualities and there are varieties which can be consumed by patients of diabetes who otherwise are advised not to eat rice.

¡°Though it¡¯s very hard to approach the market and make a place for indigenous rice, we have approached doctors at AIIMS and Medanta in Delhi and have asked to prescribe indigenous rice varieties as the food alternative to patients especially the diabetes patients. It¡¯s all in very initial stage and will take time,¡± added Ishan.

Roughly met over 200 farmers now

Both Ishan and Darshan have been visiting hinterlands of both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with their main base in a village near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh.

¡°We have been meeting farmers on both the states for the last two months and have had some interesting sessions. We have spoken to over 200 farmers and most of them have shown interest in whatever we have told them.

"Since most of them are growing hybrid paddy which gives them two-time meal, it¡¯s very hard to bring it in practice. An alternative demand in the market for indigenous rice is required to make the practice popular among the farmers because all a farmer always wants is sustainable livelihood which sees his family fed,¡± said Ishan.