AURANGABAD: With many people losing jobs and facing career insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some engineers and management graduates here in Maharashtra are now exploring options like poultry and goat farming to sustain their livelihood.
In their quest for a stable professional life, 20 engineers and management degree holders have recently enrolled for a course in poultry farming at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Aurangabad district, the agriculture centre's poultry and goat farming course expert, Dr Anita Jinturkar, told PTI.
"These engineers feel they had to devote a lot of time to earn a fixed salary every month.
But, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought job uncertainty for many, some of these engineers and management graduates have decide to take up poultry and goat farming, as they feel this can make them earn big profits by working for a limited number of hours," she said.
The KVK, running under the Vasantrao Naik Agriculture University (Parbhani), imparts training in supplementary farming courses.
Dr Jinturkar said they have received 20 applications for the poultry and goat farming course so far and it would be started online soon.
"Among these students, 15 are engineers, two management degree holders and three diploma holders in education. Earlier, people who were into full-time farming used to take such training. But, after the COVID-19-induced lockdown, even engineers and management degree holders are eager to venture into poultry and goat farming," she said.
Pawan Pawar, who holds a diploma in civil engineering, said his family has a farm land, but nobody is taking care of it currently.
"I spend a lot of time every day to earn a fixed income at the end of the month. I feel if I invest my time and energy into poultry and goat farming business, I can earn more. Hence, I have applied for this course," he said.
Krishna Rathod, another engineering degree holder from Georai Tanda village here, has also decided to leave his job after completing the course.
"During the coronavirus-induced lockdown, my company asked me to quit. This scared me as I realised there is no job certainty in these times. So, I have decided to learn about poultry business along with goat farming. Currently, I have a job, but once I set up poultry business, I will leave the job," Rathod said.
Local resident Shrikant Maske, an MBA graduate, who quit his salaried job a few years back and ventured into business, has also now decided to take up poultry farming.
"I left my job four a years back and set up a garments shop. But, the profit graph fell amid the COVID-19 pandemic and there is no surety of the business picking up again. People who invested in poultry business a couple of years back are making handsome profits now. Hence, I have also decided to take it up and enrolled for this course," he said.