CANACONA: Amey Puranik of Partagal, Canacona has an M Tech degree in structural engineering, but when he learnt that the salary offered to him by private companies in India was meagre, he returned to his roots – agriculture.
The 27-year-old has taken to farming at his ancestral land admeasuring around 15,000 square meters. The land was once forgotten, but now, Puranik is cultivating chilly, cluster beans and other crops. He intends to start cultivating areca nut, among other things.
According to Puranik, jobseekers in Goa do not need to migrate as there were plenty of opportunities in the State. He informed that the State government, Canacona Zonal Agriculture Officer Shivram Gaonkar and Agricultural Minister Ramesh Tawadkar helped secure finances for his project.
His agricultural land was full of weeds and bushes, and had a hilly terrain. He turned things around with the help of manpower and heavy machinery. Now, he is waiting to harvest the produce and earn profits after selling it in the market. He is currently facing difficulties as he has taken loans of around Rs 19 lakh nineteen for the project.
Puranik stated that his parents wanted him to take white-collared jobs, but he did not relent. They now support him, and his father Arvind Puranik, a senior citizen, even takes care of the farm in Amey’s absence.
Presently, Amey is growing chilli and cluster beans with an inter-cropping system. Soon he will start betel nut production in another four acres land, where a lot of water is available. He is happy as his efforts will bear fruit within a fortnight. However, he has no strategy for selling the produce.
Puranik is also motivating youth to opt for agriculture instead of migrating to towns and cities for a job. He has employed five people presently, but wants to earn more. However, he lamented that people prefer to remain idle rather than get soil on their bodies.
His friend and neighbour, Mahesh Naik, who is also the local sarpanch, shared his sentiment. He said, “Farming is a good and profitable business, but today’s generation prefer white-collar jobs rather than traditional farming.”
Puranik stated that he had formed a group ‘Canacona Krishi Sangh’, which comprised of around 30 youth. The association will be registered shortly. Their aim is to bring fallow land under cultivation. However, he knows things won’t go so smoothly. He cited an example in which he found a vast tract of uncultivated agricultural land in his village.
When he requested the landlord to give him the land on lease, the landlord refused fearing that Puranik would grab the land.
Amey added that he as he loved education, which was a continuous process, he will complete his PhD in structural engineering and carry out farming on the side.
Puranik is also of the opinion that farmers are using outdated methods of cultivation. He claimed that they bought substandard seeds from the market and used inorganic fertilizers. When their crops failed, they rushed to the government for compensation.
“Presently, the agricultural office is organizing field days, trainings camps and exposure visits to create awareness about new technology amongst the farmers,” said Amey.
“If the annual agriculture income is more than a salaried income, youngsters will plunge into it,” said Shivram Gaonkar, Canacona zonal agricultural officer.
He further said that the government had approved other schemes, including 100 percent subsidy for vegetable cultivators and a subsidy of Rs 80,000 per hectare up to five hectares for farmers.
