UoH Postgraduate quits corporate job, becomes a model farmer in Siddipet

Siddipet: The lure of the village beckons, but not many may be able to pursue their dream of settling back in the villages. But this youngster, who is a post graduate from the University of Hyderabad and his wife, a qualified teacher in one of the corporate schools in Hyderabad, did the unimaginable. They migrated […]

Siddipet: The lure of the village beckons, but not many may be able to pursue their dream of settling back in the villages. But this youngster, who is a post graduate from the University of Hyderabad and his wife, a qualified teacher in one of the corporate schools in Hyderabad, did the unimaginable. They migrated back to their remote village, Habsipur in Dubbak mandal of this district and have been living an exemplary life as farmers.

Meet the young farmer Bonguram Nagaraju (32), who joined Bharat Biotech after completing his MSc in Animal Biotechnology from UoH. He was earning a good salary, but he apparently got disillusioned with the city life after realising that whatever was being eaten, was pesticide-laced. Much to the chagrin of his parents and his in-laws, he and his wife decided to shift from Hyderabad to Habsipur. His wife was working as a teacher in one of the corporate schools in Hyderabad. Not only did he take a daring decision to quit his job, but this post graduate also opted to cultivate some unique indigenous paddy varieties that were never cultivated in his village. He has been also following the natural farming models such as using cow dung, neem oil and others.

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Since then, Nagaraju and his wife had cultivated seven indigenous paddy varieties such as Manipur black rice, Kuji Patali, Dasumathi, Ratna Chodi, Kalabati, Telangana Sona, Kugi Patalia, Burma black in four and a half acres of land besides taking up a mixed vegetable, fruits cultivation in one acre.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Nagaraju said that he was earning decent money on paddy cultivation. However, he said that he has decided to cultivate mixed crops besides rearing sheep, and chickens at his farm to enhance the profits in the days to come. Saying that he was very much satisfied with his current lifestyle, the young farmer has said that he had distributed different indigenous paddy seed varieties to farmers on over 200 acres to encourage the farmers to avoid purchasing seeds from corporate companies.

Honouring his way of farming, Gandhi Global Family, and Gandhi Gnan Prathistan Trust have presented him Pudami Putra Award last year. With an aim to educate the farmers on his farm practices, he has been working with Grama Bharathi Voluntary Organisation, Subhiksha Agri Foundation, and Deccan Mudra. “Nagaraju has become a source of inspiration for the youngsters who were pursuing a career in agriculture, Agriculture Extension Officer Mahesh said.

 

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