Journalist turned goat farmer

To be an entrepreneur one needs courage, dedication, perseverance and ability to mobilize and manage the resources including labour and capital. It is also synonymous with risk. That is why, perhaps, many search for the cushion of doing jobs and earn a regular stipend rather than vying for larger amount of money that comes as a reward for bearing risks and turbulent situations. Therefore, we have more workers and fewer entrepreneurs in the society.

Rameshwor Dhital belongs to the category of daring youth who has given up a comfortable job and media glamour and opted for agro-enterprise at his own village in Nuwakot. It might be inspiring for many youths in and out of the country that Dhital left his growing career in journalism to confront new challenges in goat rearing. He was working as the Supplement Coordinator at the Arthik Abhiyan daily when he decided to leave the capital city for his village in Samundratar, Dupcheshwor Rural Municipality in Nuwakot.

Rameshwor Dhital

Dhital was enjoying a good remuneration and facilities and was doing fine with his profession. “But, I wanted to do something of my own and contribute to the development of my own locality through employment generation and economic activities. This dream motivated me to leave the capital city for my village,” he said. 

His company, Samundratar Agro-Farm, was founded about five years ago with an investment of Rs. 1 million. Now the size of investment has reached Rs. 10 million and the business is focused on goat and fruit farming. The farm is spread in 100 ropanis of land, and has one night time shed, two daytime sheds and one play area for goats. Currently, it has 125 goats – boer, jamunapari and other cross-breeds. Dhital has employed two technicians and a couple of individuals indirectly.

The days in the beginning were pretty difficult. The farm needed continuous investment, and Dhital’s experiences were inadequate for the business; he faced many challenges in the initial days. But he was not discouraged and did not lose hope and perseverance. As a result, he was able to generate income to meet the operating cost in the second year of the business and started earning profit from the third year.

But the devastating earthquake in April and May 2015 damaged all the structures built for the farm. However, various organisations supported him with goats. “Now, I supply goats to organisations such as Maiti Nepal, Good Neighbours and Laligurans Community Development Centre Rasuwa, as well as to farmers and women groups, Livelihood Programme of Citizen Awareness Centre and other farmers of various rural municipalities and municipalities in Nuwakot and Rasuwa,” he said. He sold goats worth Rs. 3 million last year.

Dhital’s goat farm is being established as the resource centre for the farmers in and around his village. He is implementing ‘Goat Mission Programme’ of District Livestock Service Office with he-goat, shed reform, medicines, machinery and tools support from the office. “I plan to establish the farm as the national goat resource centre, and run homestay service to advance agro-tourism simultaneously,” says Dhital.

He sees a tremendous potential in agriculture and animal husbandry and urges the youth to take up modern agriculture instead of leaving the country in search of jobs abroad. “We are searching for fire with the matchbox in our pocket. There are lots of possibilities in the villages. It’s much better to be your own boss rather than working as an employee in other’s companies,” he expresses his satisfaction.

There are 150 goats in his farm now. As mentioned earlier, the project has 100 ropanis of land for raising grass and grazing goats.

He has a plan to put in more investment in the project raising it to Rs. 20 million. The Project for Agriculture Commercialization and Trade (PACT) has extended an assistance of Rs. 3.5 million. Dhital had stood first in the national call of projects by the PACT. 

(Published in The Rising Nepal, on 27 October 2017)