Two Hours After Class, This Professor Walks Into His Field And Harvests 60-Quintal Brinjals A Week
Devoting a few hours every day, an English professor trades books for soil and proves traditional organic farming can still feed and sustain families.
Published : January 6, 2026 at 2:42 PM IST
|Updated : January 6, 2026 at 4:51 PM IST
By Shashank Laware
Amravati: He might be waxing eloquent the verses of Shakespeare, Chaucer or Milton in the classroom, but his expertise has manifested even in the farm fields of Eklaspur hamlet at the foothills of Melghat. Today, he is happy that something he took up as a hobby yields about 60 quintals of brinjals every week.
Before taking to the fields, Professor Dr Eknath Tatte (59), who heads the English department at Bhagwantrao Shivaji Patil College in Paratwada, had decided to take his interest in agriculture forward only through organic and traditional practices. So he chose his one-acre land in Eklaspur hamlet to begin experimenting. "My trial in September 2025 carried a simple message: farming can feed you, if done thoughtfully," says Tatte.
Every evening after finishing his lectures, he changes clothes, picks up farm tools, and reaches his brinjal field. By the time darkness falls, women labourers fill crates with fresh produce, and Tatte looks at the field with satisfaction and a smile. "Every week, I have been harvesting 60 quintals of brinjals. Before packing the lot, neem leaves are sprinkled on top of the brinjals and then wrapped in carry bags," explains Tatte.
Last September, Tatte sowed two varieties of brinjals, including a prickly local variety, using seeds sourced from a private company. He also planted khapli (emmer) wheat, a traditional grain famed for its nutritional value. Last month, the brinjal crop started yielding result, consistently at that.
The brinjals currently fetch Rs 40 per kilogram, with the harvesting season likely to continue from September to December. However, Tatte is not as happy with some of his decisions. Speaking on how he could have done better, Tatte says, "I should have used mulching, planted on raised beds, and installed drip irrigation. But we learn from our mistakes and I will correct next time.”
Still, without any of these measures, the yield has exceeded his expectations. “I am satisfied. Sixty quintals every week is not a mean feat from someone who had never practised farming as a vocation or profession. But my experimentation proved that traditional farming still works,” he says.
Deliberately avoiding chemical fertilisers Tatte prepared his own organic inputs. He used cow urine as a growth stimulant, buttermilk and egg mixtures to control pests and synthetic pesticides or fertilisers are a strict no. "The soil responds better when you do not over use it or poison it through chemicals,” he says.
Tatte has also cultivated khapli, known as emmer wheat, alongside brinjal, entirely through organic method.
"I could not get them locally, so I had to get the seeds from Sangli," he informs, adding that the wheat crop is expected to be harvested by March or April and will be valued for its high nutrition and lower gluten content.
Tatte believes that his experiment can be replicated, especially by young farmers. "Apart from the initial investment, one needs to put in a lot of hard work. I spend two hours every day after college. But it is rewarding because done systematically and scientifically, farming ensures that none will go hungry, and everyone can earn," he asserts.
His message is not idealistic, it is backed by numbers, yield, and market prices.
His wife Vanita, a homemaker, visits the farm occasionally, but on the day ETV Bharat visited the fields, she was present. "He works hard. He makes it a point to come to the farm after college every day. Now we can see the results,” Vanita says, adding that Tatte's work should inspire and encourage farmers. “They have to see it to believe it," she concludes.
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