Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded Hirod Patel, a young farmer from Ratanpur village in Odisha’s Sundargarh district, praising his shift from conventional paddy cultivation to a smart, integrated vertical farming system system that maximises land, water, and income.
“The story of a young farmer named Hirod Patel in Odisha is truly inspiring. Until about eight years ago, he cultivated paddy in the traditional way with his father, Shiv Shankar Patel, but then, he began to approach farming from a new perspective,” the PM Modi said during the 131st episode of Mann Ki Baat.
Modi detailed the innovation in which Hirod built bamboo trellis over a pond on his farm, grew creeper vegetables on it, planted bananas, guavas, and coconuts around the pond, and started fish farming in the water. “In other words, traditional farming, vegetables, fruits, and fish are all being undertaken in one place. This has led to better land use, water savings, and additional income. Today, farmers from far and wide come over to see his model,” the Prime Minister added.
The model has been gaining attention since 2019, when the 32-year-old, who also works as an electrician, teamed up with the watershed and soil conservation unit of Odisha’s agriculture department to dig four ponds on the family’s 10-acre farm. Over one pond, he erected a vertical trellis using bamboo and planted 120 bottle gourd vines, which thrived as pond moisture eliminated extra irrigation, while the elevated structure improved sunlight, airflow, and ease of spraying/harvesting. In one season, the setup yielded about 1,800 bottle gourds, fetching an extra Rs 35,000 in income and his total income has grown to Rs 8–10 lakh annually.
Hirod even built a simple handmade boat from plastic drums to navigate the pond and collect produce efficiently.
