Interviewtimes 
Scarcely any years back when were looking at farming picking as a profession in our state Odisha, the educated youth were reacting with mockery. However, the outlook is changing now as some highly learned tech-savvy youth setting trends by interceding themselves into this area and making agri-business venture profoundly productive and profitable.
One of them we are discussing is Sambit Nanda. He is a known face in the Social media circle in the state as his reviews on legislative issues, social issues, youth affairs, economics are watched, heard, and reacted at the extremely top part of the system and what not. He is graduated in Electrical Engineering from the reputed KIIT University. After that, he has set up a small-scale food processing unit in his village. That was not an accomplishment because of a lack of assets. Later he joined Rungta Mines Ltd as an electrical engineer to get some experience in his core field. Later, after leaving his job, he got back to entrepreneurship and established L’amour De Chocolat, an imported quality handmade chocolate-producing plant. It was running effectively till the Covid pandemic hit and he needed to wrap it up temporarily and returned to his town to help his father in managing their farming business. In less time of his association and valuable inputs, their not much profitmaking making farming business has shown commencement of benefits making. Interview Times had a detailed conversation with him while he was setting a few parameters inside his mini 5 Metric Ton Cold store and here how he responded to few questionnaires of Interview Times.
Q1-What motivated you to start farming?
ANSWER: After leaving my job as an Electrical Engineer in 2016, I, with my wife founded a imported quality handmade chocolate manufacturing unit. It was a big hit in few times till it faced a major set back due to covid lockdown. We had to wrap it up temporarily and came back to my village to stay with my parents. Here at my village, I have directly come across my father’s agricultural experience and thought of adding some technologies to make it considerably profitable. So, from here, starts my new venture into farming sector.
Q2-What were the initial hurdles you have faced when you started farming?
ANSWER: Though I was seeing agriculture in our home from my childhood, I am completely new to this field. This lock down gave me lot of time to read modern agriculture like Hydroponics, Biofloc Fish Farming, Post-Harvest and Cold Chain Management etc. And gradually started putting inputs to my fathers farming process. The only one hurdle that I noticed in agricultural sector is labour. My father knew how to handle all other issues in farming.
Q3-What is your perception about choosing farming as a career?
ANSWER: I chose to get the maximum from what we have. All that we have is few hundred of Mango Orchard, Few hundreds of Lemon Orchards, Some agricultural lands for farming of vegetables and paddy. I thought if I could earn more than what a corporate company can offer me, from what I have, then why should not I choose it a career option?
Q4-You have added a small cold store at your farm land, what inspired you to go for it and how it happened?
ANSWER: Yes, many experts told me it’s not feasible to install less than 3 Thousand Metric Ton capacity Cold Store which could have costed me more than 4 crores. But seeing to my farms mango and other vegetable yielding capacity, I made my calculations and suggested my father to install a very small 5 Metric Ton capacity Mini Cold Store and it came out profitable saving us from untimely force selling of our farm products in very less price. We educated entrepreneurs shall take risks to show the right path to others. So, I have done my part.
Q5-What will be your message to the people who wants to become like you?
ANSWER: The answer is simple. You don’t need big investments to make big profit. I have started my first Hand made Chocolate unit with 10 Thousand rupees only and scaled it to a 25 lakhs worth asset in just 3 years. So, you have to believe in yourself and act deaf to all negative words.
Q6-What is your success mantra?
ANSWER: I don’t think I have achieved success yet. Yes, I am on my way to get that sooner or later. I believe that success only happens if you don’t ever agree to stop after each failure.
Q7-How did you manage your workforce as well how did you manage you time?
ANSWER: Your work will teach you how to manage your workforce synced with your time if you are constantly focused to it only.
Q8-What are your other hobbies?
ANSWER: Social Media Marketing, Raising Social issues, Political Critic, Writing Short Stories, Poems sometimes and Learning new technologies etc.
Q9-What are your future plans regarding farming?
ANSWER: I have plans to develop a self-sustaining model of agriculture where someone can safely plan for farming any crop without worrying for marketing or selling. This will include Cold Chains, Modern Farming techniques like Aquaponics, Polyhouse farming, Post-Harvest crop management Units, Minimal Food Processing units and Solar power supply systems etc.
Q10-What inspired you to start with bio floc fish farming and how did you managed to start it at your farm land?
ANSWER: I noticed that we have to be dependent of other states on meeting our fish demands. Biofloc technology is the best option if you don’t have very large land to make a pond for fish farming. Any youth or house wife can easily manage 2 tanks of 10-thousand-liter capacity which will yield around 7 to 8 hundred kgs of fish in 6 months average. Means 8 to 10 thousand rupees income per months. The amount will increase with increased number of tanks. After all its always a good choice to eat fresh fish than the frozen ones.
