After 39 years in service, former Dibrugarh University official returns to farming

A retired Dibrugarh University official has turned his ancestral land into an organic farming venture in Assam's Dibrugarh district, creating employment opportunities for local residents while cultivating more than 50 varieties of vegetables and fruits.

Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, who retired as an Assistant Registrar in 2020, established Sharma Agro Farm on his 10-bigha ancestral plot at Jamira Motok Patra village under Barbaruah. What began as an effort to return to agriculture after years in government service has grown into a farming venture that now employs four regular workers.

Sharma has cultivated around 56 varieties of vegetables and fruits, while the farm has a collection of approximately 111 varieties of vegetables, horticultural plants and fruit-bearing trees.

The produce includes mustard greens, radish, spinach, coriander, French beans, peas, brinjal, tomatoes, cauliflower, knol-khol, bottle gourd, pumpkin, beetroot, carrots and potatoes, along with other seasonal crops.

The farm also has a nursery with nearly 15,000 cuttings of Assam lemon, locally known as kaji nemu. Other varieties grown include mirika tenga, naga tenga and several flowering plants. The venture has recently expanded to marigold cultivation, 10 varieties of pomelo and sugarcane.

Sharma follows organic farming practices, using cow dung and compost prepared from decomposed vegetable waste and other biodegradable materials to maintain soil fertility.

Beyond cultivation, the initiative has helped 10 unemployed people become self-reliant, while four workers are currently employed on a regular basis.

Sharma's association with agriculture began long before his retirement. His father encouraged him to plant trees and grow vegetables, and he learnt farming by observing the garden maintained by his family.

After his father's death when he was in Class 9, Sharma took responsibility for cultivating vegetables on their ancestral land. He sold the produce at Barbaruah market to support his family during a period of financial hardship.

He completed his schooling in Jamira and graduated from Dibrugarh Kanoi Commerce College before beginning his professional career in 1981 as an Assistant Accounts Officer at the Dibrugarh Cooperative Society.

He worked there until 1988, when he joined Dibrugarh University as an office assistant on June 1. He subsequently rose through the ranks and became Assistant Registrar in the university's Examination Department in 2014, a position he held until his retirement.

Despite his professional commitments and family responsibilities, Sharma maintained his connection with agriculture for several years. However, the demands of work and the education of his two children forced him to discontinue farming for nearly 14 years.

He eventually resumed cultivation on his ancestral land in 2016, gradually developing it into an organic farm. After retiring in 2020, he began dedicating his time fully to the venture.

Alongside his career, Sharma continued his education, completing a postgraduate degree in Commerce through Dibrugarh University's distance education programme. He later obtained an MBA from Sikkim Manipal University in 2015.

Drawing from his own experience of overcoming financial difficulties, Sharma believes agriculture can provide a sustainable livelihood, particularly for young people seeking employment.

He has stressed the need to introduce children to farming at an early age and encourage parents to view agriculture as a viable career option rather than merely a traditional occupation.

His venture has also focused on diversifying cultivation to improve income prospects. The expansion into marigold farming, in particular, is aimed at strengthening the farm's financial sustainability.

For Sharma, retirement has meant a return to the agricultural work he began as a teenager, this time with the opportunity to turn his experience into a source of livelihood for others.