KOZHIKODE: You can travel thousands of kilometres from Keralam, cross an ocean and stand on unfamiliar African soil – only to discover that the person working the land beside you speaks Malayalam.
Malayalis are no strangers to travelling to different corners of the map in search of a better life. However, a new chapter is emerging in the migration story, far away in Africa.
Across the continent, entrepreneurs from Keralam, particularly from he Malabar region, are exploring farmland as a business opportunity. Availability of land on lease, scope for commercial cultivation and growing demand for familiar vegetables among expatriate communities have encouraged the entrepreneurs to experiment with agriculture on a scale that would be difficult to replicate in Keralam.
One such entrepreneur is Arjas Rahman of Kappad Vengalam in Kozhikode, who ventured into Sierra Leone and gradually built an agricultural enterprise combining farming with retail. He said more than 200 Malayalis, many of them from Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram, are currently in the West African nation.
Rahman’s journey to Africa started with him working with a royal family in Bahrain. Later, he was encouraged to explore business opportunities. His search eventually brought him to Africa around four years ago. “Everything was new to me – the terrain, food, people, even the way of life,” Rahman told TNIE.
His first challenge was building relationships. “We had to convince the local people and make them understand what we were trying to do. But as our interactions grew, I developed a close relationship with the local community,” he recalled.
He also spotted the absence of dedicated vegetable shops like the ones in Keralam. Local vendors sold one or two types of vegetables and buyers had to visit different stores to buy different varieties.
“There were no proper vegetable shops here when I came. I thought of starting a shop where people could get different vegetables under one roof,” he said. Rahman took five acres of land on lease at Kabala and began cultivation on about three. Instead of concentrating only on local crops, he decided to grow something familiar, vegetables used in Indian kitchens.
His farm now produces snake gourd, beans, long beans, bitter gourd, green chilli, ladies’ finger, bottle gourd, beetroot and carrot, among others. His clientele has also expanded with Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalis living in the country – anyone looking for vegetables used in the South Asian cuisine – becoming important customers.
Interestingly, Rahman often takes seeds of crops not commonly grown in Africa, like red spinach, from Kozhikode to Sierra Leone and even distributes those among local farmers, encouraging them to cultivate it.
“I bring many seeds from home. We have provided seeds to local people and educated them on how to grow those,” he said. For Rahman, the objective is not just growing everything on his own farm, but also helping local farmers cultivate vegetables and eventually creating a wider network of production.
Like all journeys, his too was challenging. “Water scarcity was a major problem,” Rahman said. Then there was the challenge of building trust. Although Sierra Leone is an English-speaking country, Rahman said communication and cultural differences initially made it difficult to explain his ideas to local communities. Over time, direct interactions helped bridge that gap.
“The local people are welcoming. They do not have a problem with us farming here,” he said. The enterprise has also created employment opportunities for local people, both directly through farm operations and indirectly through wider agricultural activities.
Rahman and many others from Keralam who are venturing into agriculture are now eyeing vegetable export to other countries, which they say is more feasible compared to India.
The potential
Arjas spotted the absence of dedicated vegetable shops like the ones in Keralam. Local vendors sold one or two types of vegetables and buyers had to visit different stores to buy different varieties. Instead of concentrating on local crops, he decided to grow vegetables used in Indian kitchen