Not content with his success with vegetables, Verma also developed a new method of “hand pollination” in his small Kiwi fruit orchard and grew 1.6 quintal of Kiwi fruit from a single plant. With a biogas plant, a wind power plant and solar power panels on his farm, Verma says he is saving more than Rs 50,000 annually on power.

Verma, who is also a member of the Extension and Research council of Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, has so far been conferred with various national-level awards including the ASPEE award, Jagjeevan Ram Kisan Purskar of ICAR, Delhi, and the Kisan Shiromani Samman.

Over the years, Saproon valley, situated on the northern side of Solan town, has become known for the cultivation of off-season vegetables, stone fruits and production of temperate fruits and cash crops, with an annual turnover of more than Rs 20 crore.

Underlining the need for better linkages between scientists and farmers, Verma said that marketing was the single factor that affects a growers’ returns. Since value addition is the national priority, more technology should be made available to the farmers for better use of surplus farm produce, he added.