Gomes, who has completed his SSC, took up the initiative of growing vegetables from the age of 19 years and it was his vision to make agriculture a sustainable means of livelihood, in the footsteps of his ancestors.
In his first three years, he focussed on growing mostly lady fingers, chillies, brinjals and other varieties of vegetables.
At the age of 22, Gomes’ idea garnered interest in his community and soon 30 members joined him. This not only motivated him, but kept him marching forward as the group started growing vegetables together and in turn shared the income they earned as well.
Currently the group has as many as 150 members who worked together and had a bumper produce of vegetables, mostly lady fingers. The collective effort also saw their profit margins increase and the group is able to have a living based on the returns of their investment, seeds of their hard labour.
The group begin their work at 6 am and say they are not bothered about waking up so early as the environment is pleasant and rich in nature. They refer to the sounds of birds, sightings of exotic birds and peacocks as well near the hilly terrain located at S P Modi in Navelim. They further point out that wild animals are habitants of the trees on the hills called Ghanti Rolp which has a rocky terrain.
Gomes handles sales and accounts too. He rents the land from landlords to whom they pay a substantial amount to every year.
His charm and enthusiasm helped attract even more youth from the locality to join him which helped boost income for the year 2014. Gomes went on to add that in December, due to the scarcity of water, they sought help from local authority and took water from Selaulim dam through a canal that passes through his field. In other circumstances, he depends on rain water for irrigation or water from a nearby pond.
The youngster expressed his gratitude towards MLA of Navelim, Avertano Furtado for his assistance in this endeavour and also thanked ZAO of Margao, Sandeep Dessai for his guidance and support.
Gomes’ inspiration came from another farmer from Navelim, Eleuteiro Carneiro. Talking to Herald, Carneiro said, “Sanny is a dedicated youth showing qualities of patience and hardwork. He has been creating waves in the agriculture business here and inspires others to grow vegetables in their homes, place permitting. I’m extremely happy about this group and I guide them whenever required.” Carneiro went on to conclude saying that more people need to take this up and if a youngster can do it, so can other people.
