Agronomy, Agriculture, Farming, Crop Production

SANJAI KUMAR

E-Mail: sanjaikumar1007@gmail.com and Sanjaikumar107@rediffmail.com

Phone 919872650997, 9876509522

PROFESSIONAL OVERVIEW

• A professional with 26 years of experience in nursery raising, vegetable/crop production and procurement of raw material for processing either from farmers through buy back or growing on company leased farmlands.

• Have additional experience of development of green belts, land scaping, grass raising in lawns, tree planting, plantation wok, laying irrigation systems inside factory premises as per statutory requirements to meet environmental standards.

• Conducting of R&D trials and results analysis for continuous yield improvement through varietal evaluation and agronomic interventions.

• Contract farming with large number of farmers involving training sessions on latest technology and quality input distribution, rational usage of limited resources like water / energy, post-harvest management etc.

• Working for achieving CSR vision by improving yields per Ha of small and marginal farmers through agronomical and varietal interventions improving their returns per Ha creating social impact.

• Significant experience in working with team having well-defined vision, targets and responsibilities down the line to achieve long-term objectives of organization with focus on safe working conditions.

• Have hands on experience in terms of process control through documentation, final produce traceability for GLOBALGAP / organic produce certifications and team management.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Agristo MASA Ltd. August 2019 to August 2024:

To grow and procure potatoes for processing and developing R&D farm with drip/sprinkler systems to improve upon yields and Quality.

• Planning of operational targets to procure potatoes for processing from farming community at a pre decided rate through contract farming.

• Seed multiplication on farmer's fields.

• Installation of Drip and sprinkler irrigation systems along with fertilization units at R&D farm and on farmer's field.

• Planning and procurement of seeds, fertilizers (both granular and water-soluble), agro chemicals etc. and distribution to farmers on loan basis.

• Agronomical interventions in terms of planting on 30” beds, increasing sowing depth, controlled irrigation through drip/sprinkler helped to achieve highest yield of 60 MT per HA against average delivery of 29 MT per HA.

• Crop monitoring and execution of fertilization plans, crop protection etc.

• Developing team of agronomists to increase the area and production of potatoes in coming years as per company's vision in different growing zones.

• Controlling harvest and purchase of raw material from farmers as per laid quality specs after completion of crop cycle.

• Developed green belt by planting grass / ornamental plants in lawns, installing irrigation system, planting of trees like Neem, Ficus around periphery etc. to meet environmental standards inside factory premises along with beautification of roads, residential complex.

Olam International Ltd / SOLIS AGRO as an Out Grower Agric Manager April 2015 to July 2019:

To link 20,000 farmers with company for supply of raw material(paddy/vegetables) with vision of improving their yields and quality to impact their financial status for irrigated and rainfed areas in different states of Nigeria.

The Company has established a state of art rice mill at village Rukubi in Nasarawa State of Nigeria with processing capacity of 100,000MT per annum. The aim was to ensure Raw Material availability from company owned farm of 5000 Ha and rest of the volumes through out grower program and open markets at competitive rates.

• Planning of operational targets for out grower team based on processing targets of the year.

• Planning of inputs like seeds, fertilizers, agro chemicals with focus on yield improvements at farmers' fields through distribution of seeds of improved varieties, change in agronomic practices, crop health monitoring, farmer training camps and transfer of technology etc.

• The entire process also included evaluation of different cultivars at farmers' fields for multi-location testing, input distribution, data generation and evaluation, farmer wise record for complete traceability and costs etc. So selection of progressive farmers for laying demonstration plots was integral part.

• Nursery raising for 2 seasons and distribution to farmers.

• Crop monitoring and post germination fertilization and plant protection planning.

• Buying back the produce at a competitive price.

• Trained a team of 20 local people to introduce systems to procure raw material that is paddy as per laid quality specifications from farming community with complete traceability at a competitive price.

• A pilot project, which was initiated with 700, Ha in 2015 was successfully scaled up to target 5000 Ha in following years with vision of linking minimum 20,000 small scale farmers.

• Also the farming community was linked to different Government/ Non-Government bodies under different schemes (IFAD, CBN ‘s ABP, State ADP programs etc.) to improve their yields per Ha and farm incomes, providing training's in terms of GAP, pre and post-harvest handling of produce, soil and water conservation and other related topics to create a social impact also.

• Under out grower program farmers were linked with IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) and CBN (Central Bank Of Nigeria). 50% of total input costs were born by IFAD where as in 2nd program 100% loan for inputs and labor was provided by CBN to farmers. Olam was an off taker for the produce.

• Conducting farmer's trainings camps jointly with USAID and State Agricultural Departments in terms of crop raising and post-harvest handling.

• Hiring of storage facilities at different locations to store paddy after harvest.

• Quality checking of incoming raw material in terms of purity, moisture, admixtures, foreign body etc.

• Weighing and storage of produce purchased from each farmer with complete backward traceability.

• Olam lifted entire produce at a pre decided rates after working out complete economics. The paddy cultivation was done for both rainfed and irrigated conditions with emphasis on improving irrigation efficacies.

• Developed green belt by planting grass in lawns, planting ornamental plants, installing irrigation system, planting of trees, hedges to meet environmental standards inside factory premises along with beautification of plant.

Farm Manager with CIMMYT India/JIPL from April 2012 till Feb 2015:

To bring 250 HA of uncultivated land under cultivation, laying of irrigation and fertilization systems, erecting green houses for R&D trials on maize, wheat, paddy.

CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat improvement centre with Headquarters at Mexico) is a non-profit organization working under UNO and engaged in dissemination of technology to farmer's fields after conducting trials on their farms. Worked with CIMMYT India as manager and managed 640 acres' farm located at Jabalpur. Prime responsibilities included sowing of different crops like maize, direct seeded/transplanted rice, wheat, pulses for research trials and seed production both under rainfed and irrigated conditions. The objective was to develop technology for conservation agriculture with zero till to preserve soil nutrients in long run and dissemination down to tribal farming community.

● Execution of cropping calendar and research trials both for irrigated and rainfed conditions.

● Finalization of KRA's to achieve objectives as a team and periodic evaluation of progress.

● Managing day-to-day farming operations at farm and on farmer's fields in terms of inputs planning, seed planning, fertilization, technical guidance for yield improvement, post-harvest handling etc. Total area planted under maize, wheat and other fruit crops both on farmer's fields and on organization-leased farms was to the tune of 5000 acres.

● Conducting varietal evaluation trials for maize, wheat, rice etc. for short listing varieties with high yield potential and better-quality traits. These trials were conducted both for irrigated and rainfed conditions.

● Mechanization of different agronomic operations to reduce growing costs.

● Liasoining with international and national scientific community for crop production at organization owned farms/Green Houses and with farming community.

● Safe use of pesticides as per GLOBALGAP standards with MRL's within limit in product.

● Exploring possibility for mechanization of different labour-intensive operations with internationally used machineries for sowing, hoeing, harvesting of different crops to evaluate their functioning under our conditions at government leased farms and on farmer's fields to reduce growing costs.

● Seed production of different crops and its proper storage. Different inputs distribution to farming community at start of season.

● Farmer wise input uses, pesticide usages, etc. for audits by external agencies.

● Planting of fruit trees like banana, guava, lemon, mango, litchi, amla etc at farm.

● Planning and execution of running irrigation/fertilization units.

Senior Agriculture Manager in Field Fresh Foods Pvt. Ltd. Ludhiana (Feb 2006 onwards till 31st March 2012)

Farm development, laying of irrigation and fertilization systems, Nursery raising for vegetable production at R&D farm, both under open and protected green houses and poly houses. Also leading team for procurement of raw material for processing.

Bharti-Delmonte Enterprise and a leading, trusted and innovative provider of branded fresh fruits & vegetables, and processed food product in India and abroad under brand name of “FieldFresh” and “Del Monte”. Managed production of vegetables and herbs. Primarily tomatoes were grown for processing whereas baby corn, sweet corn, basmati rice, chillies, snow peas, potatoes, French beans, coriander and herbs were grown for export both on company owned farm and on farmer's fields as per GLOBALGAP/ Organic produce standards. Ensure scattered sowing throughout the year to regulate inflow of raw material. The major areas where experienced was gained are as following:

● Planning and conducting agronomical and varietal selection trials primarily for tomatoes, chillies at farm for yield and quality improvement. Involved in seed multiplication and potato cultivation for ITC as per their guidelines.

● Production of disease free and healthy nursery of different vegetables like tomato, potatoes, chilli, capsicum, cucumber, and paddy etc. by ensuring different operations at right time at a competitive price for distribution among contracted farmers and open sale.

● Working for sustainable agricultural practices for achieving long term objectives keeping in view soil health, limited water resources, safe pesticide usage, environmental impacts etc. in partnership with Punjab Agricultural University, State Agriculture Department and other private organizations.

● Planning of annual operating plans both for farm and farmers fields to procure RM tomatoes at a pre decided rate after working out total growing economics.

● To define job responsibilities and finalization of work plan for the team.

● Growing of high value crops like capsicum, seedless cucumber, cherry tomato in fully automated green and poly houses in soil less media.

● Production of different herbs like basil, coriander, mint etc. for export purposes.

● Organic production of vegetables after completion of conversion period and certification from certifying body.

● Conducting CAPA studies and ensuring control measures thereafter in case of handling customer complaints to avoid reoccurrences.

● Transfer of technology based on R&D trials to farming community w.r.t. high yielding varieties, pesticides based on relative efficacy, mechanization of different labour intensive operations and usage of recommended safe pesticides as per GLOBALGAP standards to keep MRL's within limit in produce with objective of growing and procuring best quality raw material from farming community at a competitive price.

● Drafting POP's having broad guidelines regarding agronomic practices along with pesticide usage against different diseases and pests.

● Tracking of insecticides/fungicides sprays at right time intervals in right concentrations to achieve targeted MRL's in end produce as per customer requirement.

● Procuring RM tomatoes with 100% traceability right from sowing till end consumer through documentation.

● Training field staff and farming community regarding different audits like HACCP, GLOBALGAP/safe usage of pesticides/organic crop production etc. Risk assessments, infrastructure availability with each farmer/vendor are carried out before inclusion. Maintaining records like soil health status, input usages wrt fertilizers, seeds etc, plant protection measures undertaken for audit by relevant independent body both for Organic and GLOBALGAP certifications of produce.

• Developed green belt by planting grass in lawns, planting ornamental plants, installing irrigation system, planting of trees like Neem, Phicus, etc. to meet environmental standards around pack house, roads and buildings.

Assistant Manager/Manager in Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (April 1992 to Feb 2006):

Nursery production of tomato, chilli, (Basmati) aromatic rice for distribution to farmers, dissemination of technology, improving incoming raw material quality through varietal, agronomical and other interventions for improving output of final product.

During this period was engaged in:

• Evaluation of different tomatoes/chillies varieties for continuous improvement in yield and quality parameters.

• Raising of healthy and disease-free nursery of tomato, chilli, basmati paddy for distribution among contracted growers.

• Ensuring staggered planting of tomatoes in different agro climatic conditions (Rajyasthan, Haryana and Punjab) for procuring raw material and prolonging processing window.

● Procurement of raw material like tomatoes, chilli to the tune of 30000 MT through contract farming for manufacture of tomato and chilli pastes for Kissan products.

● Transfer of technology to farming community based on R&D trials to improve yields and reduction of growing costs with objective of maintaining profitability of farmers to procure RM at a competitive price for organization. On field trainings and laying of demonstration plots on farmers fields were ensured every season.

● Crop monitoring and post planting advise to farmers in terms of fertilizer applications, plant protection etc.

● Procurement of Basmati paddy to the tune of around 20000 MT with full traceability records for export.

● Organizing farmers meets for dissemination of post planting technical guidelines like agronomic practices, pesticides to be used against different insects and diseases, post-harvest handling of produce etc.

● Production of organic basmati on pilot scale.

Managed third party operations at different factories engaged by company for blending and packing of different brands of tea(Taj Mahal, Brooke Bond etc.) and manufacturing of biscuits where primarily managed team of around 40 people for:

● Meeting production targets as per business plan.

● Timely procurement of packaging material, raw material from different vendors as per laid quality specs to ensure smooth production after carrying out vendor evaluations.

● Ensuring quality specs as per laid standards both for incoming raw material and outgoing finished product.

● Achieving technical efficiencies in respect of production, minimizing wastages of raw material and packaging material, improving input and output ratios for finished product and minimizing defects at time of pre dispatch inspections of finished product etc.

● To ensure production of finished product as per requirement of customers / different audit standards with quality defects within targeted limits in finished product.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:

• MBA Business Applications from Annamalai University Annamalai through correspondence during 2010.

• M.Sc. (Plant Breeding) from GB Pant University of Agriculture and technology, Pantnagar, year 1991.

• B.Sc. (Agriculture) from Himachal Pradesh krishiVishvaVidalya, Palampur.

PERSONAL DETAILS

Address : House no HM-13, Phase 3-B-1, Mohali. Punjab.

Date of Birth : 7th Aug 1968

E mail id sanjaikumar1007@gmail.com sanjaikumar107@rediffmail.com

Phone No. : 91 9876509522/ 9872650997

TRAININGS ATTENDED

• Training program on Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) by SGS, India Private ltd.

• Training program on FSMS (ISO22000) by SGS, India Ltd.

• Training on GLOBALGAP for commercial Horticulture crops by SGS India Ltd.

• Training on Micro Irrigation Techniques for Agriculture production by FICCI and Israel Embassy.

• Organic Farming by Onecert Asia.