Many of you would have heard people changing their work life with their passion and interest. This has been frequently observed with engineers who are changing their work of interest and opting for something new. Here is a story of one such engineer who left his corporate life and started farming.
Mallikarjun who pursued his degree in computer science and was working in Semantic space won a prestigious award from ICAR in Jan 2021 for best farmer in Telangana. Mallikarjun, Sandhya with their daughter were a happy family living in Hyderabad city.
REASON FOR CHANGING CAREER-
Life in Hyderabad was tough, many of the relatives and friends used to visit the city for hospitals and used to stay. Long night chats used to end with specific topics such as unhealthy food and chemical based crops. In some parallel universe this was hitting hard to Mallikarjun; he felt this as an alarming situation. In 2014 with much planning, Mallikarjun said goodbye to his corporate life.
HOW IT STARTED-
Farming and agriculture were his genes. He took over the 12 acres that his father and role model Laxma Reddy owned and started ploughing his dream. He practiced many types of farming. Worked on many money saving techniques and joined courses related to agriculture in ICAR granted institutes. It is well said that- ‘ practice makes man master’, and he became the master of his service. From years of research scientists have found out that many of the traditional agricultural practices are long term danger . Keeping this in mind Mallikarjun searched for the mid way. He started with a semi-organic farm with paddy. But it didn’t work, so he invested in drip irrigation and tried hybrid red gram farming. After giving 100% potential he followed SRI which stands for system of rice Intensification. This methodology is for increasing the yield of rice.
SUSTAINABILITY OF HIS LAND-
Farming does not depend only on how much returns we get but also asks for less investment. Many of the farmers focus on larger returns and invest lots and lots in chemicals which hamper their land after years. In an interview he revealed that he makes more profit than a common farmer. Regular farming needs 50 thousand of investment per 60 quintal but organic farming requires only 25000 which means 50% more profit. He invested most of his money in making the farm self-sustaining, By using rain water harvesting, Fisheries in wells and cow dung as fertilizers.
MAJOR REASONS FOR WINNING ICAR AWARD-
His way of farming is – Taking a good piece of bite from every dish. Which means following every methodology which will result in profit.
- He enrolled in integrated farming, started using rainwater harvesting through farm ponds and opened wells for increase in groundwater.
- Stubble burning was considered a boon for farming until scientists declared it as worst practice. It is hazardous for health and the environment. Instead he started using a waste decomposer.
- It is said that- ‘ Knowledge increases when shared’. On this note Mallikarjun started spreading awareness among farmers. He also inculcated the feeling of growing healthy and organic in farmers.
When Mallikarjun and his wife made their decision of leaving the city life many of them laughed and made fun of them and many were supportive as well. They were aware of what action they were taking and what would be its consequences. After winning the award everyone was sweet as sugar. This shows that if you have passion and confidence for it, then just go for it. Society will blame you till the date of success and suddenly everything seems to be easy because it is difficult until it is a dream and easy when it is in the present.