AHMEDABAD: This 56-year-old organic farming veteran has been in the business for over two decades now and has clients not only in metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad but also in count ries like the US, the UK, China, Germany and Norway. Parshottam Sidpara, a farmer from Jamka Gir in Junagadh, is an ardent advocate of ecological farming and says it takes a huge heart and exceptional skills to grow crops using traditional techniques in the available soil.
He cultivates tuvar dal, chana dal, moong dal, three varieties of wheat, jowar, rice, groundnut, vegetables and fruits on 250 bighas of land for more than 1,000 customers. He also supplies cold-pressed groundnut oil, sesame oil and ghee.
Jamka Gir is located 20km from Junagadh near the Gir National Park, the last abode of Asiatic lions. Sidpara, who does not need a marketto sell what he grows, has made it his life’s mission to make pesticide-free produce available for all. Helping him realize his dream are his wife, two sons — both mechanical engineers by qualification — and daughters-in-law, who are graduates.
The family also organizes farmstays for potential clients so they get first-hand knowledge of organic farming and its benefits.
“Around 20 years ago, when I ventured into ecological farming, I had no idea if it would be sustainable, but I had a gut feeling that things were going to turn out well. I can tell you today that the future of organic farming is quite bright, provided farmers get all the required support from the government,” Sidpara says.
He claims he has never had to advertise his business. “Word of mouth publicity has helped me. I have customers in the US, the UK, China, Germany, Norway, Ethiopia, Brazil, Poland and UAE. Those who visit my farms put up posts on their social media accounts and I receive more orders. Around 10% of my customers are those who preferred to first visit my farms before placing orders,” he says. While it is widely known that organically grown produce costs much more than those grown conventionally, Sidpara says he has reduced his profit margin because he wants people to have access to healthy food.
“I have tied up with courier companies to supply the produce to my clients at reasonable prices. I want to encourage other farmers to take up organic farming so that the demandsupply gap narrows,” he says.
Snehal Parmer, an employee with a pharmaceutical company in Ahmedabad, has been Sidpara’s customer for five years.
“I was introduced to Sidpara in 2018. He began delivering pulses, cereals, vegetables and fruits home. For five years now, we have not co mpromised on the taste and quality of food,” he says.
Manish Parikh, a Mumbai-based trader who has been subscribing to Sidpara’s home-delivery service says, “After being his customer for over a deca de, we find it difficult to order groceries from retailers in Mumbai. ”