Rajiv Bittu Biography 
Rajiv Bittu is a chartered accountant who took to farming and later turned a successful agriculturist. Bittu could have easily led a luxurious life but instead he chose heat, dust, hard labour and risk as an agripreneur who took it as a mission to go with farming. He took over to farming when his daughter hesitated to mingle with farmers who worked in farms, because of shabby and muddy clothes. He was deeply hurt with the behaviour of his three-year old daughter and decided to bring back the dignity of farming by choosing the same path. Now Rajiv is a part-time Chartered Accountant and a full-time farmer.
He was born in Gopal Ganj in the Siwan district of Bihar. He has two younger siblings. His father was an engineer in the State government irrigation department. His schooling was done at different places. Rajeev came to Ranchi for the first time in 1988 to study at Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Dhurwa. Later he graduated in commerce in 1999 and also completed chartered accountant course.
During his childhood days he lived in Ranchi. He used to travel 28 km nearly daily to his farm in Kuchu village. But later when got busy with his profession as a chartered accountant, he felt bored of it. He found it very difficult to bind himself within the four walls of office and preferred to spend his time with nature. He loved farming and loved to mingle with farmers who toil hard with the soil. An incident happened in his life so unexpected prompted him to change his profession and switch over to farming.
One day Rajeev went to his village in Gopal Ganj in Bihar with his three-year-old daughter. Though she mingled with all the villagers, she hesitated when a farmer tried to take her in his arms. He was working in fields and his clothes were filled with dirt and mud, and that’s why the young child hesitated. Her reaction made Rajeev upset. He also felt humiliated for the thought that though farmers work hard to fill our stomach, they are still looked down upon and ignored. Rajeev started a new journey after that.
His first step was to lease some land in Kuchu village, 32 km away from Ranchi. He offered the landlord 1/3rd of the produce he grew. He used latest technology like drip irrigation and mulching to get a maximum yield at his farm. It also reduced water wastage and labour cost. In 2014, Rajeev had a good harvest of watermelon and muskmelon, but the profit was not enough. He then divided the land into small segments and cultivated a different crop in each segment. He has now taken 32 acres of farm on lease, which earns a profit of around Rs 15 to 16 lakh every year.
Published: February 15, 2019
Updated: February 15, 2019
