Vijayawada youths return home, take up farming

Vijayawada: The Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown to curb its spread has seen many youth take to farming as an alternative livelihood option. Many daily wage earners who moved to Vijayawada have turned to agriculture as a means to support their families. Interestingly, their families have been in farming for years.

Around one lakh daily wage earners at wholesale markets in One Town, Gollapudi and Bhavanipuram — the largest marketplaces in the state — are from the villages surrounding the city. Workers from Gudivada, Nuzividu and Jaggiahpet commute to the city every day to work in the marketplaces.

With the pandemic, however, matters changed overnight. Most wholesale and retail outlets in the city emptied out and ‘Staff wanted’ boards came up. Workers from the nearby rural areas returned home, preferring to take up cultivation rather than staying on in Vijayawada.

Absence of public transport and half wages paid by managements also drove many daily wagers to pick up farming. “I have worked in a garment store in Vasthralatha market for more than ten years. I used to travel to Vijayawada from Thotlavalluru every day for earning Rs 12,000 per month. The lockdown bared the real face of life as my shop remained closed and there was no option left for me except to start cultivation on a small piece of land. I have started cultivating vegetables as there is huge demand in Vijayawada. Cultivation helped me to lead my life comfortably despite the Covid-19 crisis,” said N Venkata Prasad, a farmer from Thotlavalluru.

The shift in employment has made an older generation of farmers happy who hope that agriculture may now prove to be more profitable.

“I have been a farmer for the last 40 years and cultivate seven acres of land in Agiripalli. Both my sons are graduates and they preferred working in Vijayawada for a lower salary. I requested them to take up farming but they made fun of me. But they lost their jobs with the lockdown and took to farming along with me. We have focused on good crops. I’m happy that the next generation of my family will continue farming,” said Pallem Jamalayya, a farmer from Edhara village.