In the quiet village of Lesriwal in Jalandhar’s Adampur block, Amandeep Kaur Dhaliwal, who is in her mid-30s, has redefined the narrative about farming. After leaving behind a promising academic journey—completing her MCA and MSc in information technology but leaving a PhD in computer science halfway—she got married in 2014 and embarked on a new chapter in life.
Amandeep left her job at Khalsa College, Muktsar, to focus on raising her young children and began farming alongside her husband on her family’s 17 acres of farmland. Although she had to shift to Canada for a couple of years during the Covid period, she returned, driven by a deep passion for farming. Today, she is successfully engaged in integrated farming and earning in lakhs per month.
Amandeep, a Permanent Resident in Canada, and her husband Khuspal Singh Sangha, a Canadian citizen, wanted to focus on agriculture and allied occupations. In 2015, they decided to venture into fish farming and trained in fisheries at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, where they learned about the potential of integrated farming.
Experts at GADVASU introduced them to the idea of combining fish farming with pig farming, as the waste from one serves as feed for the other. Additionally, they discovered that the wastewater from fish farming, rich in nutrients, could be efficiently utilised for crop cultivation, creating a sustainable cycle in their farming operations.
The integrated farming system is a sustainable agricultural model that combines livestock, crop production, fish farming, poultry, tree crops, plantation crops, and other systems that complement each other. It is based on the principle of “there is no waste”, aiming to minimise costs, maximise profits, and preserve the environment.
“After receiving training in fisheries and piggery farming at GADVASU, Ludhiana, in 2015 and visiting several progressive farmers the same year, we laid the groundwork for our venture. By 2016, we had established a fish farm on 2.75 acres of land, and a year later, we started a pig farm with 12 female pigs, which were gifted to us by one of our friends,” said Amandeep. She added that the family’s piggery enterprise expanded rapidly, reaching 400 pigs by 2020.
Not without challenges
Their journey was not without challenges. The piggery required expertise in nutrition and disease management, which they addressed by relying on local veterinary support and utilising government schemes for swine fever vaccinations. With guidance from experts like Dr Parminder Kaur Lubana, an experienced piggery consultant, they mastered the balance between quality and quantity. Amandeep’s commitment extended to formulating their own feed and using pig waste as feed for their fish farm, creating a sustainable and integrated ecosystem.
“In the first couple of years, we earned no profit from the pig farm; instead, we faced some losses. However, gradually, we learned to manage the pigs effectively, as each age group requires a different diet formula and quantity. For instance, piglets have their own diet, fattener pigs need a different one, and pregnant pigs require yet another specific diet. Once you understand the art of feed management, it becomes manageable,” she said, adding that pig feed is quite costly but piggery gives good returns of 30 to 40 per cent.
The family’s commitment to quality paid off when they supplied around 100 piglets to GADVASU. Before the pandemic, their pig farm was operating at full capacity with consistent orders. However, the pandemic disrupted their plans, forcing them to sell meat directly to customers when bulk orders of pigs from Assam and Nagaland were cancelled due to the lockdown.
“Even in 2018-19, I sold fish worth Rs 13 lakh from my fish pond while input costs were just Rs 40,000 because I had a large number of pigs, and the fish were receiving an excellent diet. As a result, fish that typically grew to 600–700 g in six months were reaching this size in just three months. We were selling fish in huge quantities every week,” she said, adding that in 2019, they were also selling pigs for meat purposes, earning several lakhs each month. “Without the pig farm, fish production would drop by more than half,” she said, emphasising the importance of integrated farming.
Pandemic disruption and after
“Due to Covid-19, we had to close our pig farm for a year,” she said, adding that while there was demand, the lockdowns made it impossible to sell the pigs. “But we never shut down our fish farm. In fact, we survived on it and earned well during Covid as fish had a huge local demand.”
They reopened their pig farm in 2021, but around the same time, Amandeep had to move to Canada as her husband and two daughters were already there. Despite being away, she managed her pig and fish farms, as well as agricultural operations, from Canada for a year. She returned to Punjab in August this year to take charge of her farming activities once again.
Amandeep said when her piggery was closed down during the Covid-19 pandemic, her family survived on fish farming due to huge local demand at the time. (Express Photo)
“My pig farm is currently under construction and will reopen in March,” said Amandeep, who worked as an accountant in Canada during her stay and also took up a part-time job at McDonald’s.
“Even while I was in Canada, my heart remained tied to our farmland, and when I compared my income from Canada to what I earned in Punjab, it wasn’t less,” she added, noting that her income here is not less than her husband’s in Canada, despite her pig farm being temporarily closed, which has also affected fish production for the time being.
“There are immense benefits to integrated farming, and it is a highly profitable venture,” said Amandeep. She credited her husband for encouraging her to pursue it. “Even when I faced losses in the beginning, my husband’s encouragement helped me achieve success,” she added.
“The integration of pig waste into fish farming and fish farm water into our fields eliminated the need for chemical fertilisers. This sustainable model supported the cultivation of crops like maize, potatoes, vegetables, and wheat. I also adopted innovative practices like Azolla culture and Berseem for livestock feed. Lemon and banana trees added an organic touch to the farm, with banana leaves helping minimise the effects of gases in the fish pond,” she explained.
After returning from Canada, she now plans to scale up integrated farming and is also preparing to launch a dairy farm soon. “Pigs can digest only about 20 per cent of what they eat, while the remaining 80 per cent is excreted almost unchanged. Instead of directly feeding the fish, we feed the pigs, and their waste is then used as fish feed in the pond,” she explained.
“There’s no need to go to Canada just to earn money when there’s enough potential here—it just requires dedication and proper management,” she said, emphasising that farmers must undergo training for every new venture and remain in touch with experts to maximise profits and explore new opportunities in farming. “Farmers must stop selling their land to send their children to Canada—they can earn much more here,” she advised.
Their fish farm, featuring species like golden, katla, rohu, murag, and grass carp, remains a significant contributor to their income, with fish sold across Punjab and transported to other states.
Dr Ramandeep Kaur, Deputy Project Director of the Agricultural Technology Management Agency, Jalandhar, remarked, “Amandeep’s journey is a testament to the possibilities of integrated farming when tradition meets innovation. She urges other farmers to explore integrated farming methods and advises them to harness its immense potential if approached scientifically. It’s not just about hard work; it’s also about smart work with proper training,” she said.
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