In the business world, the motivation to bring about sustainable changes and a positive impact on the environment through innovative measures is regarded as a monumental achievement. Consider someone, who has actually accomplished it decades ago and still stands strong at the youthful age of 71. Mr. Narayan Dass Prajapati “Agri-preneur of the era” with a passion for preserving the environment has demonstrated that there is no age limit to do what you love. Most individuals make retirement plans in their 40s and 50s, but Mr. Prajapati chose to start an organic farming operation instead of continuing his long-running textile business. He started by reading books on environmental sustainability and organic farming. This established a sense of duty in him, which led to in-depth research and lengthy brainstorming sessions with his friends from the farming community, agriculture research institutes, and family, which ignited his desire and interest to work and exhibit some innovation in the field of medicinal plants and organic farming. He traveled across the Indian subcontinent to connect with farmers and learn more about indigenous medicinal plants and their farming methodologies. He even visited various Government departments to gain more knowledge. He started with the cultivation of the Sonamukhi Plant a.k.a. Senna (Cassia angustifolia). The western part of India, popularly known as the Thar Desert, isnt ideal for a majority of the crops. The reason is its arid climatic conditions such as low rainfall, poor soil fertility, extreme heat in the summer season and very low rainfall during monsoons, very less irrigation facilities, and all these factors are against agricultural development in the aforementioned region.
Narayan Das Prajapati introduced this crop in Western Rajasthan. He is the pioneer farmer of this crop in this area way back in 1990. The key features of this crop are that once cultivated this crop can be harvested three times a year. It does not even require any chemical pesticide. An eco-friendly medicinal plant that can provide the farmer with year-round employment on farms. Under the guidance of this visionary, today in Rajasthan, more than 80,000 farmers are cultivating this crop and exporting it across the globe with the help of the organization - Cultivator Natural Products Pvt. Ltd. - founded by Mr. Prajapati himself. After years of intense research and dedication toward mother earth, he laid down the foundation stone of Sonamukhi Udyog in early 1988 and he has never looked back. After years of hard work & endless dedication, this company turned into “Cultivator Natural Products Pvt. Ltd.” Whenever asked for his zeal and vigor to work, he says, "The more we care for a seed at a budding stage, the sweeter is its fruits."
The narrative does not end here. His thirst for knowledge propelled him from being an avid reader to becoming the author of a best-selling book titled "A Handbook of Medicinal Plants" in 2003. He has built his own library of over 50,000 books, 100 periodicals, and 50 VCDs on topics such as Medicinal Plants, Forestry, Agriculture, Horticulture, Bee Keeping, Ayurveda, Phyto-Chemistry, Organic Farming, and Marketing. The Indian government has produced more than eight films about him, which are still broadcast on DD national. "Kadmon mei Aasman," one of his most popular films, is still popular among young teenagers in the rural parts of India. India, the agro-economy has greatly benefitted from 50 years of dedication of a devout organic farmer and social welfare activist. Because of his knowledge and expertise, he has been one of the founding members of several national-level committees such as NABARD, the National Medicinal Plants Board, the Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI), etc. He even served as a director for Rajasthan Argo Forestry Corporation. His urge to know more made him an attendee of more than 200 plus conferences, seminars, and workshops. He alone has imparted training to more than 100,000 farmers all over India regarding the cultivation of medicinal plants.
Under his supervision Cultivators also made strategic investments, brought international clients on board, entered new markets, received regulatory approvals, expanded production capacity, added to the organizations expertise and unlocked value for buyers across the globe. Serving mankind has always been an inherent quality in his genes. Amid all the squabbles, his team developed a state-of-the-art tablet making line in the world-class processing facility. In the same spirit of serving humanity, he distributed more than 20 million tablets free of charge to the first line of COVID-19 warriors and society.
Recently, the Lumpy virus entered India, and the western part of Rajasthan was the worst impacted area where cows have died in a great number. Someone needed to take steps to end the suffering of holy cows, and that inspired Mr. Prajapati to develop an Ayurvedic formulation for saving cows. He succeeded in this endeavor and has already distributed Lumpy virus treatment medicine kits to over 25000 farmers and cow shelters. The lumpy virus is spreading across Rajasthan and other states at a great speed and resulting in extremely painful and fatal for cows. Particularly in Rajasthan, the death toll of cows has increased at such a pace that there isnt enough space for burial. In such a dreadful situation, he has been working tirelessly using all resources to facilitate medicine for the lumpy virus. He aims to make this medicine available across all states of India free of cost. The man has lived his life with a single vision - “Lets make this Earth Better, Safer & Sustainable.”
As Mahatma Gandhi has said, “An ounce of practice is worth a thousand words” — His practice over three decades has built the Cultivators organization with the support of his family, the Indian farming community, and his loving nation India.
