B Satyanarayana Reddy By

Express News Service

At a time when more and more youngsters are turning away from agriculture, engineer-turned-farmer Devarapalli Harikrishna's story stands out as a beacon of hope to young graduates who want to consider agriculture as a career option. Finding no satisfaction in his job as a software engineer in the United States, the 37-year-old software engineer Devarapalli Harikrishna had turned organic farmer and creating wonders in cultivation at Mandalapalli village in Dammapet mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district in Telangana.

While other farmers are planning to leave cultivation due to loses at that time Harikrishna took up organic cultivation and producing more yielding. Harikrishna is now cultivating Coconut, Oil Palm and paddy in an organic system by taking inspiration through Subash Palikar who is the father for organic cultivation.

Harikrishna noticed more production in organic cultivation. He observed 30 to 40 per cent different in production than fertilizer cultivation. Harikrishna completed his B Tech from Guntur in 2004 and selected for a software job in campus recruitment and he later went to the USA and worked for 4 years. Though he is getting sufficient money through the job he did not feel job satisfaction at that time he observed organic cultivation in the USA and also in India.

He thought the job is not his target and immediately rushed to India and went to his native place Mandalapalli village and started organic cultivation. However, it was not so easy as his relatives and local farmers advised him to give up the idea of taking up cultivation and go back to his job. But he decided against it and started organic cultivation.

Today, he is a happy man as his efforts paid off and became a role model in the district as many young farmers and educated people are looking towards organic cultivation.

Harikrishna said, ''Initially I faced a lot of problem, but through hard work I overcame all the hurdles.'' He said during his childhood he used to visit fields along with grandfather and father Venkateswara Rao at that time only developed interest on cultivation. K Dora of Dammapet mandal head quarter said, ''We have doubted Harikrishna in beginning but now he is doing well and showing way to other farmers who are in losses by doing commercial crops by using fertilizers.