Real ‘aatmanirbharta’: Denied job, Karnataka man becomes ‘bitter gourd specialist’

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38-year-old Satish Shidagoudar is popular in this region as ‘Bitter Gourd Specialist’ for his amazing skills in growing quality and quantity vegetable in his agricultural field.

He has been cultivating it in his 1.5-acre lands out of five-acres owned by him and is earning in lakhs every month, which he says, no employer could have paid him that much salary, if he had got a job.
He has been cultivating it in his 1.5-acre lands out of five-acres owned by him and is earning in lakhs every month, which he says, no employer could have paid him that much salary, if he had got a job.

Belgavi :

Being a double degree holder he could have easily landed job anywhere. But he wasn’t that lucky as he was denied a job. But it didn’t stop him from doing something else to eke out a living and to his luck he is a successful farmer now, mainly In cultivating ‘ bitter gourd’.

He is Satish Shidagoudar, a 38-year-old farmer from Shirur village of Hukkeri taluk, about 35 km from Belagavi, popular in this region as ‘Bitter Gourd Specialist’ for his amazing skills in growing quality and quantity vegetable in his agricultural field.

He has been cultivating it in his 1.5-acre lands out of five-acres owned by him and is earning in lakhs every month, which he says, no employer could have paid him that much salary, if he had got a job.

He is also a wealthy farmer now, as he owns four vehicles, a piece of land and is also planning to build a bungalow.

Speaking to Express, Satish Shidagoudar said that “I wanted to be a teacher for which I also studied bachelor’s degree in education.

I had also completed BA degree. But I was asked to pay Rs 16 lakh as a bribe for a job with Rs 16,000 salary per month. My father was also planning to arrange money by taking loans as he was desperate to get a job for me. But I refused to and decided to help my father in the field”.

My father Nagappa who is aged 69 and uncles were growing variety of vegetables from the past 15 years in a traditional way.

But the yield and quality were poor due to which they were barely generating any income.

“After joining them in agriculture in 2008, I chose the advanced techniques of growing vegetables by adopting drip irrigation for proper water management, mulching the base to maintain moisture and prevent the growth of weed and providing micronutrients regularly and management of pest.

“I chose to grow bitter gourd by studying its demand in the market. It is bitter by taste, but it is a remedy for diabetes, cancer and many more diseases. People have started consuming it more nowadays. It is also used in making medicines,” said Satush.

“Following this, we started growing the very crop throughout the year by changing the plots in one-and-a half-acres of land. We harvest about 50 tonnes in one season.

“This year, it is being sold at Rs 35,000 per tonne against Rs 48,000 last year. During seasons, I earn about Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000 per day which I think is far more than the salary earnings of any teacher’ says Satish with a smile on his face”, he added.

“I hardly invest Rs 1.5 Lakh and earnings are several times more than the investment. This is possible only due to hard work and dedication.

“I take care of the plants like a baby due to which I get quality yield. Many people from various districts visit my field to understand the method of cultivation”, he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Sunil Patil / Express News Service / June 10th, 2020

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