Jakhar Farm
I am Raja Ram Jakhar from Ghamurwali village of Rajasthan. In my family there are six members including me- my wife, three daughters and one son, two of my daughters are teacher and third daughter and the son are still studying. My family was associated with agriculture from the beginning. But I before continuing my ancestral occupation did B.Sc. in Agriculture from DAV College of Sangaria, Rajasthan in 1980. After my degree I also got a government job of Supervisor at Central State Farm, Suratgarh. But I left that job after 3-4 months and came back to my hometown.
I also started farming as my ancestors were doing, by following conventional farming methods, but I gained no major profit from it. Managing a family of six members by just farming which was not that profitable was difficult. But then I just came to hear about the Patanjali brand and its aloe-Vera products. Patajali needed aloe-Vera in bulk to manufacture the products, so I thought of taking advantage of this opportunity and I started aloe-Vera farming in 2015.
I invested Rs. 15000 for one bigha each and planted aloe-vera of Babie Densis variety. I was the first one who started aloe-Vera farming in Ganganagar District. I faced many problems in the beginning and once my family also doubted me, but I never got staggered from my decision.
After 1 year, aloe-vera plants were ready for commercial purpose, few buyers contacted me for buying my produce, and since then I’m selling the produce without making any extra effort from my farm only. Currently I’m earning 1 Lakh from 1 Bigha in 1 a Year. Every after 50 days I send two trucks of aloe-vera to the buyers. Now I have also planted Moringa plants with aloe-vera.
I also grow cotton for commercial purpose and I only prefer organic farming methods for Aloe-vera and cotton. For my own family use I grow okra, ridge gourd, cucumber, bottle gourd, guar beans and other seasonal vegetables. My future plans are to expand my work and make more farmers aware to start aloe-vera farming.
