Muttappa Pujari
Muttappa Pujari, a progressive farmer, studied up to the 5th standard and belonged to Hasanapur village, in the Gulbarga district of Karnataka state, India. In his family, he has three daughters and two sons. He has 8 acres of land, along with two oxen and two goats.
During the kharif season, he grows ginger, flowers, red gram, cotton, and leafy vegetables. As soon as the Kharif crops are harvested, he grows wheat, chickpeas, chili, and sorghum for the rabi crops. He has been engaged in farming since an early age, and he wants to continue the integrated farming approach where crop losses can be replaced with another venture.
He facilitates a healthy exchange of information as he has a good relationship with fellow farmers and input dealers. He has significant exposure to mass media, and he regularly reads Kannada newspapers, listens to the radio, and watches television.
He believes that because of mixed farming, he gets the majority of his rations from his farm. He is the only farmer who started growing 10 crops on 8 acres of land. To improve the land for a higher yield, he has stayed on his farm for 8 years.
In his opinion, farming can be successful and profitable if anyone puts in the right effort and makes the right decision at the right time. With effective management, he grows tomatoes on 0.5 acres of land.
He further said he wants to purchase new machinery to substitute labor, as the availability of labor is the biggest challenge in rural areas.
Farming gives him a comfortable standard of living and gives him confidence. In his village, he gets Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 by selling leafy vegetables. From his 8 acres of land, he earns Rs. 4 to Rs. 5 lakh in net profit. He believes that with proper irrigation and electricity facilities, he would be able to increase his income.
According to him, farming is profitable and correlated to the socio-economic events of everyday life. During the festival of Makar Sankranti, there is a cattle festival around his village. With this opportunity, he bought two oxen and sold them within four months, earning a profit margin of Rs. 21,000.
To boost his net revenue, he plans to start commercial poultry, fish, goats, and farming in partnership. To increase productivity and production as well, one needs to take risks in the farming sector.
