Hi Guys!
Really interesting Thread. Well, Let me introduce myself first. I am Venkatesh working as Senior project Manager in Infosys. As you know everyday client call, project meeting, delivery schedule etc. I am just 33 and almost i have all problems in my body because of this stress. So i decided one year back that we need to do some business. So i selected Agri is my prime business. because i am seeing lot of potential area for the next 20 years.
For the same first i brought 8 acres of land in outskirt of chennai. Do you know how much struggle i faced
1) cleaning the area,
2) did fencing
3) made a hut
4) applied for electricity
5) digg bore
6) pipeline conenction etc etc.....
To get into the shape i spend moeny like anything , i can say lakhs and lakhs. Then only i relaised why farmers doing sucide... For each and everything i paid money for every department like VO, AD, Register etc.
Finally my land is ready for farming. So i decided to go with organice farming. I did a complete planning.
I went to agriculture department and brought a drum seeding machine - Hand move.
Very first time, i spreaded the seeds using this drum seeding machine and waited for 10 days... everything come properly but ... if paddy stawr grows for 2 inch... the cross is growing 5 inch. afetr 10 days.. i can't able to find out which one straw and which one paddy. So total floop.
Waitied for next season, now this time i went with regular method. This time i have put sufficient vitamins for my land. All my paddy straw grown well. I can say almost in arround 15 kms from my land.. my paddy straw was too good and grown well. every one in the town talking about my paddy starw. i did everything on time. i have taken care of medicine on time. So grown well. finally after 90 days i am seeing lots and lots of paddy grains in the straw.
I was so Happy that my project is success. i have to wait for another 20 days to do harvest. One fine day rain started. it was continues 4 days rain and all my paddy straw floating in the rain water. Inside i was crying liek anything. Not only because of money... money i can get that if i go one more time onsite. But the amount of hard work which i put in that was totally lost. so all the yellow grains are changed to black grains. finally i got some money.
As per my calculations i suppose to get 10k in one acre land. but i end up with 10k loss per acre plus my effort.
That's it i stopepd that day.. now it is more than 9 months i didn't do anything.. i am still thinking whether i should start a dairy cow farm in that land or goat form or thinking of cultivating casurina..
i have complete idea about all these things, but affriad to start. But surely i will start by next 3 to 3 months.
So what i want to convey here for the "Software Professionals" are Don't think that it is a easy business.
1) getting labour is a big problem. That too, if they think that you have money that's it they will suck you rblood liek anything.
2) You can't do pilot project or POC before doing this business.
3) on the field you have to jump and you have to learn, There is no NIIT,CSC or Aptech is there an doffcourse No Google is there to help you. You have to help yourself always.
4) On top of that you have to have Luck & god blessings.
5) To my understanding, i don't know how come they derived 24% ROI. The margin is less so if you decided to put your effort put it in the large size so that you will get very good amount.
Example.
1) In one cycle if eevrything goes fine minimum 5000 maximum 10000 you will get per acre.
IF you do it for 100 acres which is 5 lacs to 10 lacs per cycle. Per cycle meas end to end 4 to 5 months.
So what ever you are earning in IT , you can get the same in Agri too provided if you do it large size.
Always Poor agri man,
Venki.
Safla