All that this poor farming family from Doddaballapur taluk has is just one acre of land which is fetching them only Rs. 11,000 a year, after taking care of their food requirements. But they have a daughter worth her weight in gold. Geetha N., daughter of marginal farmers Narasimha Murthy and Chikkathayamma, bagged a record number of 13 gold medals at the convocation of the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bengaluru here on Saturday for her graduation course.
"My parents were not in a position to bear my educational expenses when I got a seat in an agricultural course. Hence I took an educational loan to support my graduation course," says Geetha, who is now pursuing post-graduate studies in Agricultural Genetics and Plant Breeding with the help of a fellowship from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
Though my parents did not have money, they did everything for me to excel in studies and I owe my success to them, says Geetha, who rushed to their parents to show her big box of gold medals soon after the convocation.
Having experienced the difficulties of a marginal farming family, her dream is to become a researcher in the field of genetics and plant breeding and do something good for farmers in distress. "I am pained to see farmers being in distress, especially due to the crash in prices. I want to do something in this regard," she says. She also has plans to set up an NGO to help farmers once she settles down in her life.
"Please do not quit farming as that is our backbone," is her plea to youth who are moving to cities in search of menial jobs by quitting agriculture.
Similarly Andhra Pradesh-based Kundur Bharath, who got seven gold medals in his graduation course, also hails from a farming family. He too wants to serve the farming community by becoming a researcher.
