Sushil’s Endeavour Meets Expectation
Success is so much sweeter when earned through determination and one’s own drive and hard work. Sushil Chand attests to this, as more than two decades ago, he at the peak of his youth at 17 years old, initiated his endeavour to success by taking up the challenge of becoming a farmer. Unlike most young men his age, who at the time had opted to leave farming altogether and depart for the urban centres to carve out their niches in the fast-paced life of the city, Sushil had a contrasting belief and resolve; one in which farming was an integral part, whereby he nurtured his path to success through his own efforts. The now 42-year-old of Tavarau, Ba who dropped out of school in 1993 had decided earlier on that farming was his future because he was certain to his commitment to assist his parents on their farm and to work his way up from there. “It has been about 20 years now since I have been farming after I left school after completing Form 5, after which I joined my parents on their farm,” he said. “I was still about 22 years old when I became a full-time farmer; I worked on a cane farm for some time after leaving school but later on moved to vegetable farming. “I was single at that time when I started farming with my parents and at the age of 22, I was managing very well by myself at that time and after getting married when I was 24, I had a good supporter – my wife, who started helping me on the farm,” said Mr Chand. Chand also had some challenges to face but resources were not one of them as it was not an issue but he had to prove to himself that his decision to venture into farming at an early stage was the correct one. “The reason why I took up farming was that we had the land and I had an interest in farming apart from other jobs as I thought to use this resource which was the land,” he said. “I used to work on my grandfather’s land for about 15 years where I did farming on my own after which I bought my own piece of land at the age of 35,” he continued. After acquiring some land in Tavarau, Ba, Mr Chand started with only one crop before he diversified onto other crops. “I started farming on my own half acre land with just cabbage, which worked really well for me as I just supplied cabbage to the market every Sunday. “After a while, I slowly started to clear up other parts of my 5-acre land and started planting other crops and vegetables with the help of my wife and slowly as time went by, I managed to build our house only from the sale of vegetables,” he smiled. The seasoned farmer has no regrets and is proud of being one, due to the faithful support of his loving wife and children because as he puts it, farming is unique as it entails a lot of trial and error. “Farming is a job like no other, where everything is of your own choice and it all depends solely on you and what type of farming you want to pursue as you will be expected to try your hand at something and hope it works out as there will be no one to instruct you on what to do and what not to do,” said Mr Chand. “Farming has another advantage because you will be your own boss, you can choose to do any type of farming that you want but at the end of the day, the bottom line is this; the more you work, the more you gain.” Sushil personifies his statement as he currently sells vegetables directly to the Lautoka market on a daily basis and earns a minimum of $200 per day and he also has plans to diversify his 18acres cane farm to a vegetable farm in the near future. “My future plans are to use my 18acres land, which was given to me by my grandfather and also where I used to plant before for vegetable farming as I hope to build a reservoir there for the planting of more vegetables.” He not only supports his family through farming but also employs 2 labourers on his farm, 1 on a full-time basis and the other as a part-time worker, whose assistance is only required when need be as he has his whole family toiling the land alongside him. “I have 3 children who also help me in the farm and in the market to sell vegetables during the school holidays and most of the time, my wife comes and helps me on the farm,” he said. Chand’s struggle and devotion towards farming from an early age have enabled him to achieve all that he dreamt of, from the purchase of a family car, a tractor and more importantly to the construction of his own humble abode; a house that he can call his own. The Ministry of Agriculture further bolstered his achievements by playing a vital role in providing assistance, support and technical expertise to pave his pathway as a successful farmer. “Government assisted me with a borehole, nursery materials for my farm and a reservoir,’’ he said. “The assistance really benefited us because from it, I have managed to grow and progress with my farm since I used to fetch water from the small nearby creek beside my farm before which was very difficult especially during long dry spells. “Now with the assistance and the help from the Ministry of Agriculture, it is a relief for my family and me as water supply is readily available with us at all times and the days of drawing water from the creek is all but over,” he shared. “If you work hard then you should have no problems, my advice to farmers is to continue to work hard and you will achieve whatever you want but if you’re not committed, you will not be able to achieve what you want in life and fail,” he added. Ultimately, that was Sushil’s drive, who from a very young age believed he could achieve his goals through hard work and dedication and he never faltered, a lesson worth learning for all who have aspirations of success.