If you do not take up your passion along with your profession, the life will be an ordinary one. But if one has the grit to strike a balance between a professional life and pursuing of passion, the life becomes extraordinary. Living examples in Goa are a doctor couple from Vasco who have taken the passion of their profession to the passion of farming for the past 12 years but have started teaching the farmers recently.
Dr Priya Savoikar and Dr Narayan Savoikar both completed their MBBS from Goa Medical College. The passion for plants won the couple various accolades from the Botanical Society and from those who were near and dear ones. “Since my childhood I always had a passion for plants and gardening. After my marriage I took this up seriously with my husband, which started with a small piece of land but now we are on the fields, trying to help farmers and those who have a passion for plants,” said Priya.
The couple is now busy visiting various fields in Vasco to help farmers get their soil tested from laboratories in Pune. They take pride in sharing their experience with those who may not be having the basic knowledge in the modern world of agriculture. “We are planning to host a workshop in July this year to share our experience. We will let them know the language of plants,” added Priya.
What the couple teach the farmers is plant compatibility, their requirement and protection of soil erosion from planting of trees, especially fruit bearing trees. “I advice the general people, especially farmers, that with the urbanisation and building of concrete jungles, it is absolutely essential for the society to plant trees in open spaces available which are of no use. One can even use air plants which do not require soil, manure as they survive on water spray and oxygen. We will also be taking this up in our workshop with the help of media,” added Narayan.
The couple is also working on grafting of plants, tissue culture which will help the farmers grow their products in a better, faster and cheaper. “We are planning to set up a Polyhouse which can help people grow exhotic flowers like orchids. We are also encouraging the farmers to plant medicinal value plants and herbs,” added Priya. The couple has already started to experiment this in Goa in their Green Valley Nursery in Verna and believe that constant innovation and excellence will surely get them to this goal.
