Journey from Banking To Agriculture

We human beings are bounded by certain habits and it becomes difficult to change those habits which are related to our source of revenue. However, it occurs to everyone once in a while, an urge to pursue a dream, so powerful that the mind and heart cannot ignore the thoughts. I grew up in a middle-class family and implanted in me was a dream of making a class leap. A dream to rise up to a level where there were no problems which money could not solve. And it turned that my hard work and my dedication paid off and I was lucky enough to achieve my dreams. Soon I was able to live in a nice apartment in a decent part of the city and the none of my worries were related to money. I've worked overtime, working my way up the corporate ladder at the best banking and financial institutions of the world including names like Merill Lynch and HDFC Bank. I have headed HDFC Bank for their retail operations in South India. Throughout my tenure, I opened many new markets for the bank's operations, hired many employees, and helped many people grow professionally. For many, this would be adequate. So, when I decide to exit the corporate life, it seemed irrational to everyone. Many of my colleagues asked me where I was headed and whether they can join me in my journey. When I told them I was entering a new life path, many people didn't understand. Also, when I sat down with my family and told them that I would be starting my own venture into bio-agricultural inputs domain, there was a glittering shine in their eyes. They knew what agriculture is meant to me and my zest to provide an alternative means to chemical based farming to the farmers.

I am not trying to impress any of my readers with the details of my apparently "fine" career. If my accomplishments were that "fine", I wouldn't have left in the first place.

I want to change the agricultural canvas of India and hence began my "Journey with Miklens". Miklens Bio was started with "A New Hope" to provide a safe, healthy and sustainable avenue for farming to the farmer brethren.

Agriculture is not like any other start-up business. I'm not selling any FMCG goods that a lot of people should/will know about. My personal inclination towards residue free cultivation led to the establishment of Miklens Bio. What started out as a personal hobby has now become a life goal.

Initially, when Green revolution was in top gear, it was good for the farmers but the long-term effects on the environment has been catastrophic. Due to the haphazard use of chemical fertilisers, the quality of the soil degraded, the essential organisms in the soil were also destroyed. Thus, over the years, the soil lost its texture, quality thereby becoming unresponsive. The irony of this situation is that instead of taking it as a learning, we followed the same routine. The world now, is facing a grave food production problem and food security has become questionable concern. If something doesn't change soon, then we won't have food, at any price. The world's population is expected to grow to nearly nine billion by 2040, and those extra two billion people will have to be fed with food which is not yet being produced. Not to forget the agro-climatic conditions and un-natural calamities which add to the damages to crops.

I believe, agriculture will become one of the most thrilling professions in the next 20 years, considering many people are getting into agriculture by leaving their high paying corporate job. Our nation will see an organic-food boom, considering many big names are joining the "Go Green/Organic" revolution.

Agriculture is fascinating as it still continues to be our backbone. It requires perseverance and a lot of patience. One has the right to dream, but also have to strive to achieve it. I have set on a life path with a belief that I will make a change in the way agriculture is done in India. Looking at how things are shaping up, We at Miklens Bio will surely turn around things.