48-year Jai Shankar Kumar is a farmer from Bihar. He is a postgraduate in chemistry. Earlier, Kumar used to grow conventional crops such as maize, wheat, rice as well as coarse grains, but the low monetary returns compelled his family to search for options for better returns.
The farmer attended many pieces of training and interacted with the scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Begusarai, as to how to improve his livelihood. Then he came to know about Integrated Farming System and was very much convinced by it. He integrated with the technical backstopping of KVK on horticulture, animal husbandry, fishery, vermicompost, bird rearing, and agronomical crops under the Integrated Farming System.
He set up a fish pond over an area of about 0.5 ha and started doing pearl farming in the freshwater. Looking at his interest and dedication to vermicompost production, the Department of Agriculture, the Government of Bihar, gave him financial assistance worth Rs. 25 Lakh for large-scale vermicompost production. Kumar is currently producing over 3000 metric tons of vermicompost per year.
In addition, the Department of Horticulture supported him with the poly house and other inputs for off-season vegetable cultivation as well as raising of seedlings for early supply in the market. KVK, Begusarai helped him technically in all his endeavors. The scientists of KVK gave timely suggestions for improvement and up-gradation of his Integrated Farming System model.
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