I used to be a software engineer with 14 years of experience, but now I've been farming for 10 years. A lot of you probably dream of quitting your job and taking up farming, don't you? I mean, who wouldn't want to work in green fields, have plenty of water, and enjoy the freedom to work at your own pace, close to nature, and grow your own food? What more could you ask for? But let me tell you, the reality is quite different.
1. Farming is tough, both physically and mentally.
2. The profit margins are really thin - if you do it on your own, you might make a profit, but if you hire labor, you might just break even or even lose money.
3. The scale of your farm matters - if you have less than 5 acres, the profit and risk are both lower, but if you have more than 5 acres, the profit and risk are both higher.
4. The type of crop you grow matters - some crops like millets and maize are short term, while others like bananas are medium term, and fruits like mangoes are long term.
5. There are just too many unknown variables - even if you do everything perfectly, you could still end up losing money, like how banana farmers might lose money due to a war in the Middle East.
6. Finances can be really tricky - it's hard to estimate how much money you'll actually make, so it's a good idea to have some surplus money set aside, and keep your farming money separate from your regular money, and have a secondary income to fall back on.
7. Farming is slow - the cycle for short term crops is around 4 to 6 months, so you have to wait a while to see if you've done things right.
8. You have to put in a lot of effort upfront and wait for the results later - you invest for six months before you get any output.
9. The middleman is the one who really benefits.
10. You need to know a lot about farming - soil, pesticides, diseases, fertilizers, crop varieties, seeds, market timing, and equipment, and you have to make decisions about all of these things, which can be really tough, even after 10 years of experience.
11. Having a farming background can be really helpful, but if you're new to farming, you'll have a lot to learn, so make sure you have the money, time, and goals to see it through.
12. You can always lease some land to test the waters before committing to buying any.
13. Farming land isn't always a great investment - it doesn't appreciate in value quickly, unless something else is developed in the area, and it can be hard to sell.
14. You'll need your family's support to make farming work, and you might need to move to a smaller city.
15. You'll have to make some lifestyle changes - your purchasing power might go down, for example.
16. Those stories about software engineers turned farmers making huge profits are pretty rare and don't always tell the whole story.
Having said all this, if you and your family are willing to adjust, change your lifestyle, and have a secondary income, leasing some land and taking up farming can be a really rich and satisfying experience. It's like being out in the fields during the monsoon, or taking a walk through the farm in early November, or eating lunch in the farm after a hard day's work, or sharing stories with the people around you, or watching things grow, and smelling the fresh air, or swimming in the well, and all that. There are many more experiences like this, so don't assume the grass is always greener on the other side, feel free to ask me any questions you have.
Yup, the grass is always greener on the other side.
Are you happy about it?
Okay, I'm back to coding now.
I come from a farming family, and they have no idea how tough it is.
You can grow those imported things that are really popular on Instagram and sell them for a huge profit, like avocados, dragon fruits, peaches, makhana, and persimmons.
I also want to start farming, you know, have that village life, with pure ghee, pure milk, and our own wheat and millet, and our own oils, I have a few acres of land, and I'm saving up, so in about 5 to 8 years, I'll be able to leave this unhealthy city life behind and live a peaceful life with my friends and family.
I don't get why people think you can get rich from farming, unless you already own a lot of land.
I've been telling my friends this, but they still think farming is a breeze, even with all the government subsidies, it's hard to break even.
My plan is not to farm for profit, but just to be close to nature and grow good food for my family.
Okay, back to data structures and algorithms now.