Sameer Dombe of Daund (90 km from Pune), Maharashtra decided to live his crazy dreams or as his family thinks he was. Giving up a corporate job to carry on his family legacy in the agricultural sector turned out to be a life-changing decision for him.
Sameer Mohanrao Dombe, a mechanical engineer was working for an engineering solutions firm earning Rs 40K/month. However, the mental and physical pressure was not worth it and when he realized this, he decided to quit. Now what? He chose to grow figs following his family’s tradition of 2 centuries.
He did not receive support from his family though because it was not something his family was expecting from him. His parents feared that he might not get a perfect match if he got into farming.
Obviously, as per the norm of society, a highly educated professional with a handsome salary is considered ideal for marriage.
But this didn’t stop him from moving ahead and now he has a turnover of around Rs 1.5 crore.
Sameer shared, not a single male, or even my friends, in his family accepted his decision. They thought surviving in an agricultural ecosystem was not his cup of tea.
But now, by selling figs, he has a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore a year.
Pavitrak: An Engineer Turned Fig Farmer is Making a 1.5 Crore Turnover
Having a farming family background proved useful as Sameer was already familiar with techniques and all. He then set on farming on 2.5 acres of land.
But here is the twist. He didn’t sold them directly to the market, the usual practice of farmers. Instead, he packed them in boxes of 1 kilogram and targeted various market segments.
One of Sameer’s friends suggested he approach supermarkets as he was already providing figs in small boxes.
And soon, with one of them, a deal was closed and Sameer started selling figs under the name Pavitrak. He followed the same approach in 3 other supermarkets once the previous deal resulted in an amazing response.
Very soon they reached Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. With their contact details on the package, customers reach out to them personally. This resulted in bulk orders.
Sameer formed small groups to handle these orders. With this, he was reaching a wide range of customers, resulting in more profits.
But Why Figs?
Daund, being a hilly region, is suitable for growing figs. Here, water percolates quickly with medium evaporation levels. Moreover, with ample distance from the highway (10 km), Sameer’s farm gets easy access to clean water.
Moreover, there is high potential in the fig market as it is yet unexplored. Sameer grasped the opportunity in time and has trained many fig farming aspirants.
It has a wide market coverage as a good quality commodity is favored by buyers and there is no commercial-level supply of fruit on a wide scale. Sameer filled the gap at the right time which is the most significant aspect of marketing.
Expanding the Dream
Gradually, he expanded his farm from 2.5 acres to 5 acres and he has also set up food processing units. You can find Pavitrak fig jams online also. During lockdown, he reached out to several clients and gathered input. Personally reaching out to them proved beneficial to him and they started taking orders on WhatsApp.
He was making sales even when supermarkets had not accepted the fruits. Surprisingly, during lockdown, he earned Rs 13 lakh through online orders.
Message to All
With an experience of 7 years in agriculture, Sameer advises all, especially sons of farmers who are doing corporate jobs.
The farming industry is still unorganized because the literate generation is running behind corporate salaries, and no one is ready to streamline their root industry.
Sameer believed in taking action in our hands rather than criticizing the government. It is our task to advertise and sell our farm produce just as corporate markets do. We should also develop innovative taglines by emphasizing their nutritional values.
