Success is not always achieved by higher degrees of academic qualification; instead, it is determined by luck and hard work. The big difference is the ability to learn and push to the limits of taking risks and experimenting.
Being an ardent example of the above explanation, Kavita Mishra, a sandalwood and fruit cultivator, from South India has a similar story to tell.
Being a native of Raichur district in Karnataka was forced to give up her Infosys job, despite being an MA in Psychology and Diploma in Computer Science, when her in-laws, especially her husband Umashankar, coerced her to participate in the area of cultivation, as she belonged to an agricultural family and everyone else had done the same.
The entrepreneur says she had received the offer from Infosys to work for them just after her marriage.
From programming to fruit farming
Narrating her inspiring story to The Better India, Kavita said that her husband, 11-years ago, gave her eight acres of barren land from the 43-acres he owned, imagining that his wife would be happy to have an area for cultivation.
Being naïve to farming activities, Kavita sold her jewellery, which had been gifted to her by her parents for her wedding, as a first step while trying her hand at cultivation.
"The land my husband gave me was barren, and I was confused about what to do with it initially," Kavita said.
"I cleaned the land myself, and thought I would do some cultivation, but didn't have much hope. With the money I received from selling my gold, I learned about the process of starting cultivation with the help of a few experts in the state. I learned the lay of the land and started growing fruits," she added.
She then remembers amusingly, the first fruit crop she had cultivated was a pomegranate, which saw a good harvest and earned her a decent profit. In this way, she kept at it, further choosing to get into the more profitable sandalwood farming. She collected sandalwood saplings from different farmers across Karnataka and Telangana.
"In our plot, we have only two inches of water in our borewell, so we can't cultivate traditional crops such as paddy or ragi, as they need more water," she said.
"During monsoon, trees hold rainwater, which is used for four months, and for the remaining eight, we use our bore water. I believe that mother earth won't leave our hand, even if our family members leave us. I have trust in her, and she still helps me in all ways possible in cultivation," she further explained.
Becoming an organic farmer
Kavita also believes organic fertilisers give good productivity, so she uses cow urine and sheep dung, which are available on her farm.
"The farm is also home to birds and snakes. I personally believe that if we don't disturb them, they won't harm us. These snakes and birds help keep insects and rats away instead of pesticides," she said.
Today, apart from sandalwood, Kavita also cultivates 8,000 fruit-bearing trees – including Mango, Guava, Custard Apple, Amla, Sweet Lime, Lemon, Coconut, Drumstick, and Jamun. She also has 800 Teakwood trees on her land.
As a high-tech security, Kavita said she has kept dog squads who alert the family in case any stranger enters the farm premises to steal the property. "Apart from this, we have also inserted a microchip in our trees. In case someone tries to put an axe in, the tree will vibrate, which in turn will send an alert to my smartphone. If the thief takes the tree before we reach the farm, we can track it using GPS too." she shared further. Such security is a must, as the theft of sandalwood trees is a serious and ever-present concern.
Speaking about the profits, she said, "We get Rs 20-30 lakh per month. Fruit trees generate a monthly and yearly income. The forest trees (like Teak) are 'fixed deposits' for our retirement. We sell our farm products by putting up a stall for 10-15 days on the Hyderabad-Goa road. And one is put up in front of the farm."
The farm also sells the saplings of the fruit trees by grafting method to farmers. Price of the fruits is fixed as per the Bengaluru market. Becoming a pro in her work, Kavita at present is also ready to help beginners in farming. People from different parts of India visit her farm on Sundays to learn more about it.
"The difficult road I traversed has led me to this beautiful destination. Like all women, I too had many dreams when I arrived at my husband's home. But I never expected that my biggest dream would never take off because him," she concluded.
