Bottle gourds above, fish pond below: Odisha farmer’s model earns Rs 8 lakh a year

On a handmade boat stitched together from plastic drums, Hirod Patel rows gently across his farm pond in Ratanpur village of Odisha. Above him, bottle gourd vines climb a bamboo trellis stretched over the water. Below, fish ripple through the pond, spread over just 0.2 acres.

From this carefully designed area, Patel harvested around 1,200 kg of bottle gourds in one season and 165 kg of fish.

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“I always wanted to practice farming differently. I believe it is innovation, and not only land area, that drives farm profitability,” Hirod tells 30Stades.

Hirod, 35, from Ratanpur village in Tangerpalli block of Sundargarh district, Odisha, did not begin as a typical farmer. After completing his 12th grade at Sundargarh Government College, he enrolled in a government-run Industrial Training Institute (ITI) to become an electrician.

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“I was inspired by my father, Siba Shankar Patel, who balanced odd security jobs with paddy cultivation. So I chose farming over a salaried job in 2015,” he says.

Instead of sticking to traditional paddy cultivation, he learned early on that agriculture must be profitable to become sustainable. He decided to combine crops, trees and fish to maximise land and water use.

Scaling up with strategy

Hirod began on a small scale, cultivating vegetables on one acre with minimal investment. Encouraged by good returns, he expanded operations.

To improve his skills, he travelled to Jalgaon in Maharashtra to learn banana plantation techniques from the horticulture department.

Banana cultivation and pisciculture (fish farming) soon became his primary focus, while vegetables, marigolds and paddy filled the remaining fields.

Working with the watershed and soil conservation unit of Odisha’s agriculture department, he dug four ponds across one acre of his holding in 2019. One pond covered 40 decimals; the remaining three were 20 decimals each. “I started fish farming in 2021 and now continue it in three of these ponds,” he says.

The trellis innovation

The turning point came when Hirod decided to build a vertical bamboo trellis over one pond. “Having earlier grown bitter gourd on bamboo supports, I adapted the idea by stretching the structure above water,” he says. The results were excellent.

“The moisture from the pond eliminates the need for extra irrigation. The elevated structure improves sunlight exposure, air circulation and ease of spraying and harvesting,” Hirod explains.

Using a trellis system also makes it easier to manage the plants and harvest the vegetables. In 2023, 120 bottle gourd plants yielded about 1,800 gourds in a single season. Around the pond’s periphery, he planted bananas, guavas and coconuts, further intensifying land use.

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His total annual income has risen to around Rs 8 lakh, driven by diversified production rather than dependence on a single crop. 

Multiple revenue streams

Today, Hirod’s farm reflects a carefully layered income model. Fish farming in three ponds brings him around Rs one lakh annually. “I also practice marigold cultivation on 40 decimals, earning about Rs 60,000 in a season and Rs 1.2 lakh in two seasons,” he says.

He also grows bananas, mangoes, and pumpkins and practices vegetable farming. “I plant paddy and other vegetables as well because diversified farming allows me to earn a consistent income throughout the year,” he says.

Hirod says integrated farming is beneficial because each component supports the other. “Pond water sustains creepers while trees around ponds optimise microclimate. Fish farming generates a steady cash flow,” he says.

Moreover, crop diversification spreads risk and ensures year-round income. “Even if one crop does not do well, others generate income,” Hirod adds.

For scripting this mechanised, integrated farming success, Hirod received the “Youth Progressive Farmer” award from the Odisha government three years ago.

His model has since attracted widespread attention. Farmers from different places visit his fields to study the integrated approach. “I share my knowledge freely. There is no fee,” he says.

By combining banana plantations, mango orchards, marigold fields, pumpkins, fish ponds and vertical climbers, he has transformed conventional agriculture into a diversified enterprise.

“This is not just farming. It is a replicable business model. Anyone willing to put in time and hard work can do it,” Hirod says.

(Malay Ray is a Rourkela-based journalist. He writes on social issues, human interest stories, startups, the environment, women empowerment and tribal life.)

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