Sheetal Suryawanshi accumulated a sum of Rs 3 Lakh by selling his yield of around 10-ton in the first reap season. "With all the speculation and costs gone, I actually earned a benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh in 14 months and that too from only two acres of land," he said.
It takes courage to leave a well settled job and to start farming but with solid will and the need to accomplish something special has made it possible for 34-year-old Sheetal Suryawanshi, a business graduate; all gratitude to guavas.
Despite all the criticisms from his family, Sheetal left his corporate job and started his journey to grow guavas, that too in the conventional 'sugar belt' of Sangli in Western Maharashtra. His endeavors paid off, and he succeeded in doubling his income.
“After completing my degree in 2009-10 from a college in Satara, I started my job in a multinational company until 2015. However, I wanted to experiment with the farming practice as a change from growing sugarcane was necessary,” says Sheetal.
Time for decision:
Coming from a customary cultivating family, Sheetal immediately understood that sugarcane didn't return the benefits that most ordinarily figured it did.
"The sugarcane crop requires a great deal of water for a decent yield. The harvesting takes around 18 months, which is long. The produce gets sold to the local factories and it takes 3 or 4 months for the money to reach the bank accounts."
Sheetal confirmed, after appropriate estimations and thinking about the costs; the benefits come down to around 75,000 rupees on a yearly basis. "Farmers in the region possess 10 to 15 acres of land and surplus produce, acquiring them Rs 9-10 Lakh yearly. This appears to have presented them a laid back mentality, and prevents them from attempting better strategies and methods," he includes.
Running uphill is never easy:
After he quit his MNC job and began thinking about a substitute harvest. "At first, I thought of grapes, yet then a good friend from Ahmednagar recommended guava, as it was well sought after in Shirdi and encompassing areas. Also Sangli’s soil and climate conditions favoured the yield," he included.
Sheetal’s family wanted him to proceed with his steady job and never quit it. "They recommended I proceed with my month to month salary, and my dad was much against exploring different avenues regarding another yield and moving ceaselessly from a confided in crop," he included.
Sheetal however persuaded his dad to try in a 2 acre section of land leaving the rest 8 acre of land for his family to develop sugarcane.
"I planted two distinct assortments of guava on an acre each. I likewise attempted an organic farming approach to decrease the harmful synthetics showered on the organic product," he added.
Sheetal Suryawanshi accumulated a sum of 3 Lakh rupees by selling his yield of around 10-ton in the first reap season. "With all the speculation and costs gone, I actually earned a benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh in 14 months and that too from only two acres of land,"
Hard work always pays off:
Sheetal said the yield has additionally kept his pay rolling. "The fruits harvest all through the season and I gain about 10,000 rupees per day with minor harvests and deals. I am monetarily much steady, and numerous others have embraced the procedure in the area," he added. The Farmer has given saplings to 25 acres to farmers in the region.
Another farmer from the region; Vikas said that he too experimented with guava in his 1.5 acres of land organically. “I was shocked that it requires less interference and organic mixes for countering pests," he said.
Yet another farmer from the area, Abhijit Jagdale, said it is his second guava harvest. "It has been a year and a half since I took up high-density plantation of 2,000 trees in 1 acre of land. I intend to expand the development of guava if the achievement proceeds," he included.
Sheetal said he feels glad that he succeeded in his plan. "My family is cheerful, and my dad is finally persuaded about facing these challenges for good. The reward is I can direct others around me to change the customary cultivating techniques and empower them to succeed," he added.
