By Jaideep Sarin, IANS
Hoshiarpur (Punjab) : At a time when a ‘killa’ (acre) of land in Punjab can cost anything between Rs.5 million and Rs.50 million and many farmers are selling it to make quick bucks, a breed of young, urbane, jeans-clad people are holding on to their family business – agriculture.
Driving a couple of hours from a village near this town to Punjab’s capital city Chandigarh for a dinner or a party is considered no bigger than travelling locally in a metro.
For these modern suave farmers in Punjab, the traditional wheat-paddy cycle is passé as they discuss everything – from fertiliser, sprays and seeds to stocks, US presidential elections, latest cars and international holiday packages. And often these discussions are over cocktails and barbeque after a hard day supervising farming.
“Farming is ingrained in our family and we will not give it up. It’s interesting getting involved with farming – dealing with its issues and even problems like power failure,” Kultar Singh, who has done masters in personnel management from Symbiosis in Pune, told IANS here.
Kultar, 35, went to New Zealand over five years ago and got permanent residency (PR) there. But his heart lay in farming and that’s what he is back to doing these days.
The only change that Kultar, known as Juju to friends, and his younger brother Harjodh Singh, a qualified lawyer, have brought about is to also open a marriage palace on a plot of land owned by their family on the outskirts of this town.
Trying new things besides farming is no longer new to these young farmers.
Harkirat Ahluwalia not only manages his kinnow farms and his poplar plantations here and near Chandigarh but has also ventured into farm tourism with wife Jasveen after building a palatial set-up in the middle of his agricultural land.
“Farming comes naturally to us. But we decided to do something different also. We will get farm guests to give them a real feel of farm life but with the best facilities and luxury. I intend putting up top quality tented accommodation here as well,” Ahluwalia told IANS.
The young generation of farmers does not mind dabbling in the roller-coaster ride of the Indian stock market either.
“Watching one of the business channels every morning to know the stock position is a must-do. Of course, farming, socialising and stocks go hand in hand for us,” says horticulturist Khushwant Singh, who last year dabbled in writing and proposes to write his second book this year.
Even the harsh summer months do not deter the young farmers from going to their fields at least two to three times every day. Of course, reaching there in an air-conditioned jeep is not a problem but they do not mind sweating it out to supervise plantations, sprays and even the harvest.