Bhadrak: Even as most of the millennials look down upon farming and would rather be unemployed, an engineer here has adopted dairy farming and become self-sufficient. He has set an example for others who have been unsuccessfully running after jobs.
25-year-old engineer Niranjan Upadhayay did not like running after jobs and wanted to economically empower himself through dairy and create his own distinct identity.
Niranjan nurtures over 15 cows in his farm and earns about Rs 20,000 a month. Besides, he has provided jobs to five members of three families.
The young farmer says: “Agriculture is the mainstay of our country’s economy. If one has the guts to swim against tides and work with determination and will power, s/he can achieve success in farming.”
The new generation should come out to take up farming and allied activities by making proper use of technology and some government schemes, he observed.
Niranjan, a resident of Talanga under Bhadrak block, completed Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from a private engineering college in Bhadrak in 2012. His parents dreamt of him becoming an engineer, but that was not to be in case of Niranjan. Fate had other plans for him.
“Since childhood, I have affection for cattle. After completing my engineering, I wanted to start dairy business,” he noted.
He said: “Though it seemed a little bit difficult initially, I did not lose courage to do that. I sought help of officials working in this sector and took their technical advice.” He started with only two cows and now owns 15. His father Abhimanyu Upadhayay has retired as block education officer and his mother Ratnamani is a house maker. His parents are quite happy with his success in dairy farming.
Veterinarians of the block and some experts of Ranital-based Krishi Vigyan Kendra help Niranjan with technical expertise. To meet the dietary needs of the cows, he has also cultivated grass, feeder grass, para grass and green grass.
“There is adulterated milk available in the market. But my farm provides people pure, farm-fresh milk,” he added.
His farm produces about 70 liters of milk daily. Apart from selling milk, he sells cow dung to fish farmers.
He has also planned to set up a biogas plant in his yard to meet the fuel need of his house.
“Ghee and cheese are prepared from unsold milk. This also fetches some proceeds,” he added.
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