Call Out…

Ketan Patil, 15 Acres Farm, Palghar near Mumbai

“My daughter asked me why we don’t do organic. We already grow half our food.

We sell enough to manage costs. We are not poor farmers. So I thought — why not try and see?”

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Reality Translation Layer.

Ketan, you did not enter organic because you were desperate. You already had land, labour, animals, diversity. You started slowly — compost first. Plants improved. Taste improved.

Then fertilizers stopped. Then came the real struggle — pesticides. No YouTube shortcut helped fully. Old farmers helped more than experts. Trial, failure, patience — that’s how you learned.

Certification came later. It did not improve farming. It increased paperwork. You paid for it because you could afford it.

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Am I alone or someone is holding my hand!

You were never fully alone. Your family stood with you. Your daughter handled records.

Supervisor supported daily work. Old farmers shared forgotten knowledge. Government helped only with advice, not risk. Certification agency helped only with rules, not farming.

Market did not guarantee anything. Support came from inside, not outside.

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Is it really worthwhile or just cosmetics?

For you, organic is real — not cosmetic. Not because income doubled. It did not. Some costs reduced. Labour costs increased. Net income stayed similar. But food quality improved. Health improved. Control improved. Satisfaction improved.

You are not doing organic for premium. You are doing it because you can — and you want to. That is a valid reason.