Law graduate-turned-farmer harvests bumper elephant foot yam crop

At a time when youth are moving away from agriculture, here is a law graduate who has harvested bumper elephant foot yam. 

K K Suni, a resident of Balekoppa, has cultivated elephant foot yam on 1.25 acres of land. 

He has received a bumper crop of 220 quintals. He has spent about Rs 50,000 for cultivating the crop and has reaped an income of over Rs 2 lakh. 

At present, one kg of elephant foot yam fetches Rs 18 per kg in the market. He has cultivated the crop as a mixed crop with arecanut. 

Suni said he applied lime to soil first to cultivate elephant foot yam. 

“Later, I used organic manure along with chemical fertilisers. Water was supplied to the plant as and when required. Later, I reaped the bumper crop in a small portion of land,” he added.

The elephant foot yam take a long time to grow. 

“I plant corn pieces during February-May which is the appropriate season for the crop. An elephant foot yam grown on our land weighed 28 kg. On an average, each tuber weighs 15 kg to 20 kg. For the last 40 years, my family has been cultivating elephant foot yam. The yield was less in the past due to lack of water facilities. Now, the yield has increased considerably with better water facility,” he said. 

Suni is a law graduate, but he is interested in farming. Along with elephant foot yam, he cultivates paddy, banana, rubber, arecanut, pepper and others. In his leisure time, he provides free legal aid to people.