If you follow your agricultural farming with 100 percent dedication, you cannot fail in it, said KV Gopi from Kerala - winner of several agricultural awards. K V Gopi from Kannur, Kerala, who won many `Karshakashri' Awards from the state bodies was in Kuwait to receive the Golden FOKE award instituted by Friends of Kannur Expatriate association.

Speaking to IndiansinKuwait.com in Kuwait, the farmer practising mixed farming in Kerala, told that farming was his sustenance and livelihood. He began his livelihood with the cultivation of Spinach. The choice wasn't wrong as he was able to produce and market the item successfully.

As the son of a farm labourer, he had mortgaged the family to buy 3 acres of barren land at his native place Pathiriyad. With the land as security, he obtained a loan from the bank to finance his agricultural foray. "I was able to repay my entire loan with the returns I received from my farm", he said.

Talking about the farmer’s suicide cases across the country, Sri Gopi said that if they utilise the 100 percent of the loan they receive for their farming purpose, the chance of loss is absolutely nil. In all these cases what is happening is that the farmers are utilising part of the loan amount for their personal expenses. A 100 percent dedication to farming will never make you fail, he said.

Many NRIs told me that they want to buy some land and do some farming activity when they return back to India. First thing you need to do is to identify the type of soil in your land. Nowadays the agriculture ministry and various departments are very much helpful in these matters. Once you identify the type of soil, they will suggest you the type of crops you can grow there. If you give 100 percent dedication, you can successfully generate all the vegetables you need from your own land. It is hundred percent satisfying job, Gopi said.

During the last five years, Mr. Gopi had turned three acres of non-arable, laterized land into a highly productive stretch which yielded banana, amaranthus, coconut, vanilla, areca nut, vegetables, betel leaves and medicinal plants. He also experiments with animal husbandry, having a good collection of meat chicken, layer chicken, quails, rabbits and pigs.

Mr Gopi received the biennial `Karshakashri' Award 2006 instituted by Malayala Manorama. He also won many awards from Organic farming and Animal Husbandry.