Mangaluru: Youth quits bank job, scripts NREGS success story

MANGALURU: A 34-year-old

villager

from

Kuppepadavu

village in

Dakshina Kannada

, scripted a success story as a progressive

farmer

, through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (

NREGS

), after quitting a lucrative

bank job

.


After serving for 14 years in a bank in Bengaluru, Sadashiva Kuppepadavu quit his job to pursue his passion for agriculture. Using NREGS benefits, the BCom degree holder, did

organic farming

on his 15 acres at Kilinjaru in Kuppepadavu.

“After hectic work as a back-office project in-charge of a bank in Bengaluru, I realised that I should pursue my passion. In the past one year, I have availed benefits of most of the programmes under the NREGS. My objective is to make this scheme popular, by making more youths and farmers from rural areas avail the benefits, and thereby choose agriculture as their livelihood. My efforts have been lauded by the gram panchayat, and they have offered me a job in the NREGS section, so that the scheme can be promoted among youths,” he said.

He constructed a poultry farm utilising the funds availed under NREGS, through 127 man days. While the farm has nearly 3,200 chicken, he has plans to develop it further. Using the schemes benefit, he constructed a goat shed, and at present there are goats of the Rajasthan Sirohi and Punjabi Beetal breeds in it, and he has plans to rear Jamnapari goats as well. In addition to local breed of chicken (naati koli), he also has various breeds of cows. He also used the NREGS to cultivate orange tender coconut (gendali), banana, brinjal, ivy gourd, bottle gourd, ridged gourd and other vegetables.

“I’m happy now, as I am self-sufficient, and am able to sell the excess produce grown on my farm. Students from local institutions visit my farm to learn about organic agriculture methods, and making manure. I have plans of constructing a bigger cowshed, cultivating arecanut and starting pisciculture and apiculture,” he said.