Nagpur: Fostering the idea of becoming a top engineer or accountant after completing graduation from prestigious institutions like IIT and IIM has now become an ordinary goal. Nagpur’s Pramod Gautam took a sharp turn from his career path and went on to become a successful farmer instead. His earning in crores can compete with salaries of top CEOs. 

Deciding to become a farmer

Pramod is a resident of Nagpur, Maharashtra. He completed his bachelor’s in Automobile Engineering from Yashwantrao Chauhan, Nagpur. He was earning a handsome salary from his job, but he felt that something was lacking. He was working like a robot and could not derive happiness from his work. 

With an aim of starting something of his own, Pramod left his job in the year 2006. He thought of a hundred ideas before deciding to become a farmer. He had enough money and resources to work with. 26 acres of ancestral land was waiting for him to reap benefits from it. 

The beginning 

Pramod did his research about the farming techniques and learned that most farmers employ traditional farming methods in their farms. He realized that doing the same would not make profits for him. He educated himself about the modern farming techniques. 

Pramod had no prior knowledge or experience about farming, so it took him a while to understand everything about it. He definitely achieved his goal as today he is considered as one of the most skilled and reputed farmers from Nagpur. He continues to provide training about new farming techniques to other farmers. 

Using modern farming equipment

Pramod cultivated groundnuts and turmeric on his land in the initial days. It was not beneficial from the sales point of view, but he gained a lot of experience. Also, his business was not very profitable so he could not take help of the workers. Instead, Pramod bought some modern farming equipment to help him reduce the labour work. He owns a tractor which runs without a driver. 

Pulses business

After cultivating groundnut and turmeric, Pramod grew crops of pulses. Along with that, he also planted seeds of guava, lemon and orange trees. After he observed the healthy crops of pulses, he set up his own mill and other machinery. He started the business of growing his own pulses, packing them hygienically and selling them in the markets. 

This endeavour proved to be successful when he started making profits from the sales. His business picked up the pace and he came to be known as one of the best farmers from Nagpur. As per the recent reports, his business has an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore. In addition to that, he makes around Rs 10-12 lakh from horticulture.