Being orphaned as a teenager and burdened with debt could have derailed Anjal Limbu’s life. Instead, he turned to organic and natural farming, eventually building a farmer producer company (FPC) that supports 1,500 farmers and creates livelihoods in Assam’s Golaghat district.
Born in Padumpathar village in the Merapani area, Limbu lost his father, a farmer and social worker, when he was just three. His mother died in 1998, when he was 16, leaving him responsible for his two sisters and a family debt of Rs 3 lakh incurred to meet her medical expenses.
Many young people from poor families in Assam migrate to cities in search of work. Limbu, however, had to stay back to care for his sisters. He chose farming as his way out, cultivating high-value crops such as ginger and turmeric using organic and natural methods. Seven years of hard work helped him repay the entire loan in 2005.
That year, he brought together 14 farmers to form the Padumpathar Sagarmatha Self-Help Group, enabling them to market their produce collectively. In 2011, the initiative expanded into the Padumpathar Growers’ Organic Society, with 50 farmers cultivating 50 hectares. They grew mustard, pumpkin, papaya, ginger, turmeric and other crops, while seeking technical guidance from local agriculture and horticulture officials.
By 2017, the collective had grown to 500 farmers cultivating 500 hectares, prompting its transformation into Padumpathar Agro Organic Producer Company Limited. Today, the FPC has 1,500 farmers cultivating 1,500 hectares.
“Ginger and turmeric are our major crops, but we also grow chilli, ‘Kaji Nemu’ (Assam lemon), papaya, pumpkin and other vegetables, all using organic and natural methods. Our farming practices integrate vermicompost and earthworm activity. We also buy produce from local markets, add value to it and sell it,” Limbu says.
The company’s ginger and turmeric have found strong demand, including overseas markets. It has exported 20 metric tonnes of fresh ginger to Dubai and another 20 metric tonnes of turmeric to Saudi Arabia.
The FPC promotes intercropping and integrated farming to diversify farmers’ incomes. Areca nut growers, for instance, cultivate lemon, ginger, turmeric and chilli alongside their main crop. Limbu also encourages farmers to combine crop cultivation with pig rearing, fish and poultry farming, and beekeeping.
Pest infestations remain a challenge despite the adoption of scientific farming methods. The FPC helps farmers address these problems in consultation with experts from government departments and agricultural institutions.
For Limbu, the transformation is measured not just in hectares or exports, but in lives changed. About 10% of the FPC’s farmers were previously wage labourers, some of them working in Meghalaya’s coal mines.
“I have known one of them for years. He would visit home once or twice a year, carrying just Rs 10,000. I motivated him to take up farming. Today, he earns about Rs 1 lakh a month, has built a house worth Rs 40 lakh, and his son and daughter are studying in Bengaluru and Delhi, respectively,” Limbu says.
He adds that he has persuaded several others to stay back rather than migrate to cities in search of work.
An agricultural transformation is gathering momentum in Merapani, which borders Nagaland, and neighbouring areas. The FPC shows farmers how to pursue agriculture with limited resources, encouraging more people to take up cultivation.
Its work has also attracted visitors from Delhi, Mumbai and other cities, as well as from abroad. School, college and university students visit to learn about organic and natural farming, while agriculture students undertake academic projects. Some stay for up to a week.
Limbu received the Jaivik India Award 2022 from the International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture in recognition of his achievements in organic and natural farming.
The FPC regularly participates in expos and exhibitions in Assam and elsewhere in India to showcase its ginger, turmeric, chilli, lemons and other produce. Buyers sometimes place orders on the spot after assessing the quality.
Recalling an international trade fair in Germany, Limbu says he carried six Assam lemons with him. A participant was so impressed that he bought them for `2,000. “I could realise the value of Assam’s lemons far away from home,” he says.
The Padumpathar company has been selected by the government for the Assam Gaurav, the state’s third-highest civilian award, due to be conferred later this year.
“We will celebrate this honour in a grand manner. Government officials have visited us on learning about the achievement. This recognition will further motivate us to work hard and take our agricultural revolution across Assam,” Limbu says.
The journey has demanded extraordinary effort. Recalling his early struggles, Limbu says he often slept for just three or four hours a night, working from 3 or 4 am until 11 pm.
Through it all, his two sisters remained his inspiration. Both are now settled in life — a personal milestone that brings his journey full circle, from a teenager struggling to support his family to a farmer leader helping hundreds build more secure futures.