Chanan Singh Sra has proven that farming, when approached with planning, innovation, and persistence, can be both sustainable and profitable. By breaking away from Punjab’s conventional paddy-wheat monoculture, Sra, 33, from Patti village in Tarn Taran, has adopted a multi-cropping system, where along with the two staple crops of the state, he produces high-value vegetables like turnip, carrot, and radish during the Rabi season.
While most farmers sow wheat after paddy, Sra has diversified his 28 acres under Rabi cultivation to grow cash crops. His efforts have paid off handsomely — between mid-September and January-end, he earns nearly Rs 46-47 lakh from just these three crops, reaping both financial and ecological rewards.
Out of his total 50 acres of farmland (15 acres owned and 35 on lease), Sra devoted 20 acres to carrots, 6 acres to turnip, and 2 acres to radish this season. Across his three cropping seasons — Kharif, Rabi, and spring/summer — his annual sales touch Rs 1.3 to 1.4 crore, with net profits of 35–40 per cent, depending on weather and market conditions.
The 33-year-old farmer grows three seasonal cycles annually — rotating multiple crops to maintain soil health and consistent income. Despite cultivating these vegetables on just 56 per cent of his land and only for one cropping season out of three, they yield the highest returns.
“I sow these three crops between September 20 and the first week of October. Turnip and radish harvesting begins in late November, while carrots start coming in early December and continue till the end of January,” he explained. “My goal is to finish harvesting before market prices drop due to glut arrivals. Proper timing makes all the difference.”
Instead of growing wheat across all his 50 acres land, Sra cultivates it only on 12 acres, which includes practising organic/natural farming on five acres of land for his regular clients, while the rest is conventional wheat.
A graduate in Arts, the Tarn Taran farmer began full-time farming in 2010 while still in college. Coming from a farming family, he was determined to move away from the wheat–paddy cycle that has long drained Punjab’s soil.
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Over time, he developed his own carrot variety—‘Sahib Red Seed’—refined through years of observation and adaptation to local conditions. “Its quality is superior, and buyers purchase the crop directly from my fields,” he said, adding that the seed variety is now in demand among other farmers. He also grows some varieties developed by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
He uses 2.5 kg to 4 kg of seed per acre to grow carrots, depending on the sowing period — earlier sowing requires more seed. His input cost per acre, including seed, labour, fertilisers and others, is about Rs 60,000. The yield, which is 120 to 225 quintals per acre of the three varieties he sows, averages 180 quintals per acre, and at an average Rs 15 per kg in the wholesale market, he earns nearly Rs 1.9 lakh per acre.
“Sometimes prices drop below that, and sometimes they go as high as Rs 25 per kg,” he explained.
On average, the farmer sells carrots worth Rs 54 lakh from 20 acres at an average rate of Rs 15 per kg by starting advance selling, and after expenses and rent, his profit is around Rs 36–37 lakh.
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Turnip yields about 80 quintals per acre and is sold at roughly Rs 25 to 30 per kg (up to Rs 3,000 per quintal) — earning him around Rs 2.4 lakh per acre, and a profit margin of Rs 8-9–11 lakh from six acres after expenses. From his radish fields, he earns about Rs 1 lakh per acre post-expenses.
Turnip matures in 35 days, radish in 32 days, and carrots in 70–75 days, with harvests running till January-end. “When others begin harvesting, I’ve already sold most of my produce at premium prices,” he said.
In total, these three crops bring in Rs 70 lakh in sales from 28 acres in just four and a half months, with net earnings around Rs 46-47 lakh. “Sometimes prices are high and sometimes very low, so if we take five years’ average prices, these crops easily yield Rs 50,000–60,000 more per acre compared to the combined profits from paddy and wheat,” he said.
Sra divides his annual land rent of Rs 63,000 per acre across three crop seasons — about Rs 21,000 per crop per acre. His total annual rent for 35 acres is Rs 22 lakh.
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He has also installed underground irrigation pipelines across his fields to reduce evaporation losses and save groundwater. “In open channels, a lot of water evaporates. This system helps conserve both water and energy,” he added.
“I’m a farmer’s son, but my education helped me think differently and adopt scientific and market-driven cropping patterns,” he said.
Beyond vegetables, Sra cultivates spring maize (February–June) on 24 acres, as well as green chillies, bitter gourd, pumpkin, watermelon, muskmelon, okra, and other seasonal vegetables.
“There’s hardly a vegetable we haven’t tried,” he laughed. During the Kharif season, he grows PR-126 paddy (a short-duration variety) mostly with Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR technology, which saves around 15 to 20 per cent water, and moong (pulses). He has also engaged nearly 50 to 60 farmers of his area to adopt DSR sowing.
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Sra also grows orchards — including four acres of pear (nashpati) and two acres of guava — and practices agroforestry with poplar trees. His farm remains active year-round, unlike many Punjab farms that rely solely on two crops. He has also given employment to around a dozen people.
Together, these three crop cycles generate around Rs 1.3 to Rs 1.4 crore in annual revenue, with net returns of 40–45 per cent, including his high-profit Rabi vegetables.
In 2013, Sra made a decision few around him supported — he stopped burning paddy stubble and other crop residues. “People said it would cost me more,” he recalled. “But twelve years later, my soil tells a different story.”
His land’s organic matter has risen from 0.25–0.75 per cent (Punjab’s average) to 1.2 per cent, a remarkable improvement. His soil now maintains a balanced pH of 6.5–7, requiring 30–35 per cent less fertiliser than before. “When you heal the soil, everything else follows — profit, productivity, and peace of mind,” he said. “My biggest reward is the health of my land.”
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“Ever since I stopped burning crop residue, the soil has become darker, softer, and full of earthworms again,” he said proudly.
For his innovative and sustainable farming practices, Sra has received multiple awards from ICAR, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), and the District Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK). He was recently honoured with the Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award 2025 for excellence in vegetable cultivation.
