A lawyer by profession, K. Nageswara Rao of Ramakrishnapuram at Chintakani mandal, is proving his mettle in both the legal profession and in farming with remarkable ease driven by sheer passion.
The 41-year-old practising lawyer forayed into agriculture a couple of years ago by growing vegetables like coccinia in his agricultural land at Ramakrishnapuram near here.
While excelling in his legal profession, he has diversified into horticulture by taking up custard apple plantation on his 1.05 acre farmland in the village two years ago. He raised papaya as an inter-crop on the same land in November last year.
The use of drip irrigation and precision farming methods helped him reap a rich harvest of papaya.
I have sowed NMK-1 (Golden) variety of custard apple seeds brought from Solapur in Maharashtra two years ago due to their high yielding potential, delicious flavour and long shelf life, says Mr. Rao.
The custard apple crop is expected in another one year, he adds, saying that the papaya venture spread on his three-acre land yielded a bumper harvest now.
“I have made arrangements to sell papaya at my horticulture garden directly to buyers as the coronavirus-induced lockdown curtailed the opportunity to market the fruits in other states,” the lawyer said.
The inter-cropping methods and cultivation of crops having demand in the market holds the key to make farming a productive venture, he suggests.
