Aul: He is a sarpanch. But his passion is farming. Despite being a sarpanch, he is a successful farmer and earned around Rs 5 lakh last year through vegetable farming in his eight acre ancestral land.
Meet the sarpanch-turned-farmer, Hrudanand Dash of Namtara panchayat under Rajakanika block in Kendrapara district. In a short span of time, Hrudanand has earned himself a good name for his noble works in the panchayat. However, it is his farming skills that he is admired for.
After finishing his work in the panchayat and block offices, he goes to his farm every day without fail and tries his hand at planting a variety of vegetables. He grows all types of vegetables like ladies finger, cucumber, cauliflower, cabbage, bitter gourd, beans and wheat.
Last year, he made around Rs 5 lakh in profit. He wants to set a good example for other farmers in his panchayat. His quality farming has attracted the attention of others who are continuously visiting him to get information on the farming.
Till now, he has not received any help from the government, but has got everything only because of his hard work. He wants to make other farmers aware about various kinds of advanced technologies and create marketing facilities for them.
“I am happy that other farmers are showing interest in farming. It gives me immense pleasure when they visit me. I have a dream to see more and more youths take up agriculture instead of running after jobs,” Hrudanand said.
Ms Kalinga