Beyond dollars: Farmer couple’s reverse migration push, son to quit Canada job to work in family’s fruit orchard

To guarantee that their orchards thrive, the mates uses grafting techniques which gives them fruits successful the 2nd oregon 3rd year.

While Rajinder Kaur worked arsenic an teacher successful territory payment section and took premature retirement, her hubby Gurnam is inactive serving arsenic the PA to the Faridkot lawman commissioner.

“We had earlier leased retired our onshore and farmers grew wheat and paddy. When our lad and girl near for Canada, we wanted to commencement a sustainable concern exemplary and prosecute our children to instrumentality to their homeland. Now erstwhile our children spot what we person achieved, they person realised that they tin gain much here. We are looking guardant to having our lad articulation america successful April, particularly since determination is large imaginable for effect processing, which would necessitate much hands connected the deck,” says Rajinder, adding that they started with kinnow, malta, lemon, and mosambi connected astir 8 acres.

The Virks’ shifted to orchard farming successful 2019. Gurnam adds that erstwhile they started they were often met with ridicule. “People laughed and thought that we would fail. They couldn’t recognize however we volition negociate with our respective jobs. But our absorption was clear. I erstwhile asked my lad if helium wants to gain little moving nether idiosyncratic other oregon travel present and instrumentality implicit the household contented and gain mode more. From our 18 acres, we present gain astir Rs 50 lakh annually. Now that my lad is convinced, I americium fractional relieved. Once helium is back, our girl volition besides understand,” helium says, adding that his lad archetypal went to Canada to survey and present helium volition instrumentality contempt having a post-study enactment permit.

Explaining however it each started, the Virks say, “When our children were leaving for Canada for higher studies, we were engaged with our respective careers. Over time, we realized that they mightiness ne'er return. We past gradually started withdrawing our onshore from lease agreements and started planting effect trees. We took guidance from Rajinder’s brother, Jaswinder Brar, who is simply a horticultural idiosyncratic astatine PAU and with his expertise, we archetypal planted kinnow, malta, lemon, and mosambi connected astir 8 acres. Over clip we expanded to guava connected 8 acres and apple successful 1 acre. We besides grew papayas, ber (Indian Jujube), pear, persimmon, dragon fruit, pomegranate, karonda and jamun.”

Their orchards carnivore fruits the twelvemonth circular but during June-July months, ensuring a dependable income for the couple.

To guarantee that their orchards thrive, the mates uses grafting techniques which gives them fruits successful the 2nd oregon 3rd year.

“To conserve h2o and optimize harvest yield, we person installed a drip irrigation strategy passim our farm. We besides usage works residues and fallen effect to make a earthy ecosystem that protects crops from pests and increases productivity. Apples are typically not for blistery weather, but respective varieties person present been developed that suit Punjab’s climate. We person dedicated 1 acre to pome and the trees person started to carnivore fruit,” says Rajinder, who retired successful 2022.

Apart from the fruits, the mates besides grows wheat connected 12 acres during wintertime done intercropping and works maize, moongi (green gram) and sugarcane successful summer. “We grip selling and income ourselves and merchantability our nutrient straight to buyers. We transport the fruits to section mandis successful Faridkot, Bathinda, Zira, and Kotkapura aboriginal greeting oregon precocious evening, wherever we person our purchasers. We people and battalion our fruits cautiously and our 15-20 labourers assistance with the enactment during the play portion 5-6 radical are employed around-the-year.”