Dhamnagar: “If you work with will power and entrepreneurial zeal, you can keep your pots boiling anyway,” says Bhimsen Das, a 48-year-old farmer of Dhamnagar area in Bhadrak.
Das has set an example for others by becoming self-sufficient with goat farming. Das, a resident of Banbag in Hasanabad panchayat, stands out as a successful goat farmer in the area.
With his own efforts and skills, he has managed to change his fate and consolidated his economic backbone. He has been educating his children with income from farming.
His struggle has been an inspiration for many other farmers in the area. Significantly, he has been encouraging farmers of his village to take up goat rearing by imparting technical knowledge to them.
Bhimsen recalled his days of struggle. During his youth, he witnessed gruelling poverty and used to pull rickshaw to support his family. For 20 years, he had been carrying people from Dhusuri Bazar to Niadigan and Hasananabd in his rickshaw just to eke out a living.
“After auto-rickshaws and other motor vehicles made foray into the market as fast modes of transport, rickshaws were left redundant. So, I had to look for an alternative source of livelihood,” he said.
He mustered courage and decided to take up goat farming. “Initially, I started rearing four to five goats,” he recalled.
Now, he owns more than 100 goats in his farm.
“One day, a veterinary assistant surgeon (VAS) from Dhusuri came to my village and visited my barn”. The VAS suggested him to raise hybrid variety of goats to make more profits.
Under National Mission for Protein Supplement (NMPS), Bhimsen applied for loan for goat rearing. “With subsidy money, I made a pucca house (25X15 ft) where I raised hybrid goats,” he added.
He took all kinds of care for the goats – immunisation, de-worming, artificial insemination and disease prevention.
His wife Manasi has been helping him in his work. As of now, Bhimsen is experienced enough to administer injections and treat regular diseases of the goats.
Bhimsen earns “about Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh annually” and has managed to turn around his striated circumstance.
With this income, he is educating his elder son in BSc and the younger one in matriculation. Now, he is planning for his daughter’s marriage.
He said: “All my family members have been giving a helping hand in the farming.”
“Goats are among the main meat-producing animals. Its (goat’s) meat is one of the choicest meats which have huge demand in local market. Goat farming generally means rearing goats for the purpose of meat and milk,” he highlighted.
He was recognised as the first successful goat farmer in the district and awarded at the State Level Agriculture Festival in 2016.
“Dhusuri VAS Dr Nirakar Jena said that the geo-climatic condition of Dhusuri is suitable for growing Black Bengal goat variety,” he added,
“Farmers are being encouraged to rear this (Black Bengal) variety,” the VAS said.
Inspired by Bhimsen’s success, many farmers have started goat rearing in Sailo, Hasanabad, Kothar and Srignaga.
Many farm experts said that rearing goats is a profitable business. Due to its good economic prospects, goat rearing under intensive and semi-intensive system for commercial production is gaining momentum in rural areas.