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 At a time when agriculture is thought to be an unattractive job option and youngsters making a beeline to multinational firms in search of lucrative career opportunities, MG Hoysala of Siddalingeshwara Estate near Suntikoppa in Kodagu dared to quit his banking job to take up agriculture as his career.
In 2008, after working in the bank sector for around seven years, this 33-year-old Commerce graduate quit the job to help his father in plantation business.
“I was interested in agriculture. With a desire to take our coffee and pepper estate to the next level, I entered into Coffee cultivation by taking up a Coffee Management Training at Central Coffee Research Institute in Chickamagalur,” says Hoysala.
His father MC Gukule used to cultivate coffee intercropped with black pepper in around 50 acres of land near Suntikkoppa.
“After Coffee and black pepper intercropping gave good result, we thought of trying ginger and paddy. The idea was to have an additional commercial crop in our basket,” said Hoysala.
They sought help from Cardamom Research Centre of IISR in Kodagu to obtain information about scientific cultivation practices of ginger. Finally, the cultivation was started in 1.5 acres of paddy field. The land was prepared by two/three rounds of digging and the beds were prepared with dimensions of 2.5 to 15 feet and 0.5 to 1 feet height. In order to provide better drainage, trenches were made between the rows before sowing.
“We procured around 35 bags of ginger seed rhizomes (Himachal and Rio-de-Janerio varieties) from disease-free plots. On scientific advice we treated the seeds with chemicals for checking potential pests and diseases,” says the young planter.
They followed scientific way of cultivation and according to Hoysala, it fetched more than satisfactory results. What surprised him is the rapid growth pattern and high yield potential of ginger. “I got 100 percent profit from ginger this year,” he says.
He said his decision to quit the bank job was not wrong. “When compared to the bank job, agriculture is more profitable and 100 per cent tension free,” says Hoysala.
His future plans in agriculture include expanding ginger cultivation area, renovating the landscape of the coffee and pepper estate in a disciplined fashion.
“It’s not what you do, but how you do it is that counts,” he says adding that “scientific support along with timely agricultural practices will help one attain maximum yield.”
Fac Sheet
Total land holding: 50 Acres
Land under cultivation:
(Coffee + Pepper)- 40 Acres
Ginger - 1.5 Acres
Average yield:
Coffee – 350-400 Kg /acre
Black pepper - 8 tonnes
Average expense per year
Coffee-10,00,000
Pepper-2,50,000
Ginger-3,50,000
Average returns per year
Coffee-15,00,000
Pepper-12,00,000
Ginger-7,00,000
By Riyas |
