Polasara: If there is a will, there is a way. Meet 36-year-old Nirupama Sahu of Laxmanpali village under Polasara block in Ganjam district, a well-known poultry farmer who has scripted a success story on all her own.
Nirupama’s success has been a source of hope and inspiration for many farmers in the area. She has not only sustained an income generating project through chicken rearing, but has also managed to become a successful businesswoman in the process.
Her story stands as an inspiration for all girls and woman who consider themselves as misfits for agriculture. Nirupama is the only daughter of late farmer Bidhyadhar Sahu. She assisted her father in farming from a very young age.
Being a farmer’s daughter, she learnt the ropes quickly. She spent most of the time with her father in their farmland. Farming came to her naturally and she continued with it after her father’s death.
Before his death, Bidhyadhar got Nirupama married to Hrushikesh Sahu. Hailing from a poor family, Hrushikesh left to work in Gujarat while Nirupama was left alone at her house only to take care of her in-laws.
Meanwhile, she struck upon an idea of starting her own farming project. Initially, she began with paddy, pulses, groundnuts, brinjal and bitter-ground. Her willpower and hard work soon helped her become one of the best growers of paddy and vegetables in the area.
However, she was not someone who would be satisfied with minor achievements. She wished to extend her business and use her farming abilities that she had gained from her father.
That’s when she got the idea of starting poultry farming in the village. Since then, she has never looked back. She built a farm and raised 3,200 chicks and took good care of them.
Now, the farm accommodates nearly over 4,000 chicken, being the only and best chicken farm in the panchayat. She registers profits in lakhs of rupees every month from the poultry farm itself excluding her vegetable and paddy cultivation.
She spends four hours a day everyday in the chicken farm. To extend her business further, she has also evinced interest in fish farming.
“My husband and my family members have been a source of constant support and have always stood by me,” says Nirupama, adding that she owes all her success to her late father.
“It is because of my father that I’m who I’m today. I believe that if one has the will power to do something, then one will definitely break all barriers and reach their goal,” she said in a bid to encourage fellow farmers. PNN
