MUMBAI: Two years ago, Sanjeev Dhasade (35) left Mumbai and a steady, decade-long job with a payment services company to breathe life into his ancestral farm land in
Raigad’s Bhandre village that had been lying untilled for 40 years. He was not sure if he would be able to earn Rs 20,000 a month, his salary then, from paddy
farming. Today, his gamble has paid off.
His earnings have doubled to Rs 40,000 a month and he has vowed to never go back to “a congested Mumbai”.
Ajit Tondlekar (38) has similarly decided against turning back. Last year, Tondlekar gave up his job as a clerk with Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Mumbai after 15 long years to try his hand at the dairy business in his ancestral Tondlekar Wadi village, again in Raigad. He now makes more than Rs 12,000 a month, which he is confident will double in a year.
Vikas Kadam (32) left his job with a power major in Pune after putting in seven years to take up poultry farming in Raigad’s Divil village. “Three years on, I make earn Rs 25,000 a month.”
The three urbanites are among the 87
youths from Mumbai and Pune who have made forays into agriculture-related businesses in Raigad district in recent years. The
reverse migration trend seems to have caught on as now another batch of 100 is on the verge of shifting out of big cities to head to their native villages.
The
migration has been aided by joint efforts of the state government and Swades Foundation, led by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ronnie Screwvala, to revive dead farms and paddy fields along Raigad district in Konkan region. Raigad is among the rural districts which have faced livelihood issues in the agriculture sector due to migration.
The foundation recently signed an agreement with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to cover 1,000 of the total 23,000 villages in the region.
While the foundation helps farmers with seeds and drip irrigation systems, it offers dairy and poultry entrepreneurs with initial “capital” in the form of chicks, goats and buffaloes.
“The government is offering them support as we could see that their initiative and efforts in the past have helped local youths evolve sustainable and self-reliant business options, thus restoring the livelihood of many families in Raigad district,” Fadnavis told TOI.
“We will extend all our support in major sectors such as health, education, water and economic development by adopting these 1,000 villages for all our livelihood initiatives put together,” said Screwvala.
Dhasade said several youths in his village have come forward with plans to grow vegetables and fruits in their old paddy fields. Some make as much as Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh a year by growing vegetables on hired patches of land along Savitri river, he said.