BIJNOR: As sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh continue to fight for their dues, this 34-year-old cane farmer from Bijnor decided to earn his livelihood by taking up pearl farming.The man watched YouTube videos to learn the art and even dug his own pond. The risk paid off.Bijender Chauhan now earns around Rs 8 lakh per year by selling pearls.He claims that he has the distinction of being the " only pearl farmer in west Uttar Pradesh ".The thought of cultivating pearls emerged two years ago when the graduate-turned-farmer from Bijnor's Ram Tera village stumbled upon a video of pearl farming on Youtube. The video was uploaded by a Nagpur-based NGO.Enthused by the returns he would get, Chouhan immediately contacted the NGO and discussed about developing a pond farm for growing shells in his native village."I have five bighas of agriculture land. Earlier, I used to grow sugarcane, but it was very hard to earn a livelihood in this small piece of land. One day, I came across some videos on YouTube based on agriculture activities. There, I noticed a video about making pearls. It grabbed my attention. I immediately contacted a Nagpur based NGO which had uploaded the video on YouTube. Later, I visited Nagpur and decided to get formal training," Chouhan said."After being trained, I dig up a pond in my one and half bigha land. Then, I started rearing shells in the ponds. There are many buyers of shells in the country. Initially, I bought the shells from Nagpur, at a cost of Rs 5 to 6 per piece. Then I started cultivating on my own here," he added.The shell he grows here costs him Rs 5 per piece, and each pearl fetches him between Rs 200 to Rs 1,500 in the market.Chouhan claims that the shells are cultivated in fresh water pond.Explaining the process, Chouhan says, "The mollusc (in the shell) creates pearls in 11 to 12 months. Such types of pearls are called designer pearls, which fetche 200 to 300 per peace. The spherical pearl takes around 18 months and it sells for Rs 500 to 1,500 per piece. Over 40,000 molluscs can be reared in one-and-a-half bigha pond. Contractors buy pearls from us and sell it to local and international and markets.""With uncertainty in payment of dues for cane producers, an alternate income is a must. And, I am happy that I am doing this unique business," says Chouhan.

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