Bengaluru: When Sameer, working in a multinational company, earning a handsome salary, returned to his village with the express desire of taking up farming as a profession, he was mocked and made fun of. His family members were even angry with him. 

But Sameer stuck to his guns and persevered. He began to cultivate fig. Though there were initial hurdles, Sameer has become so successful in it that the annual turnover of his turnover is Rs 1.5 crore. 

 

He says, “When I left the job and returned to the village, the family members were very angry. They were of the opinion that while everyone was leaving villages and migrating to the cities, it was the opposite in my case. My family members were of the opinion that my marriage prospects would be hampered,” as quoted by Dainik Bhaskar. 

Cultivating figs was not alien to Sameer’s family. Though his family used to grow it, it did not fetch good returns. That is when he concentrated on its business aspects.  

He adds, “Fig is grown on our land. People used to cultivate figs in our house too. But they were not making much profit. That is why I considered farming and making it into a business. I started working on post-production, i.e, processing and packaging”. 

Now, he is also producing jelly and jam from fig and fresh fruits. He has named his company Prithak, which in Sanskrit, means fig. 

More on fig cultivation: 

On one acre of land, Sameer plants around 300 saplings in the months of June and July. One plant costs him Rs 20. They take around a year to bear fruits.  

What is important to note here is that farming (the produce) has to be marketed effectively in order to make profits. Direct selling would make a lot of sense as it would make the farmer earn well. This is the secret of Sameer’s success.