A 27-year-old Infosys techie named Venkatasamy Vignesh quit his job to take up brinjal farming in Japan, where he earns double the income, as the country’s demand for farmers is increasing due to its ageing population and the younger generation’s disinterest in agriculture.
Venkatasamy Vignesh’s family was thrilled when he got a job with Infosys in Chennai. Hailing from a family with roots in agriculture, a job with the software giant meant a stable income, but the happiness was short-lived when Vignesh decided to quit his job and take up farming. Now, two years since, the 27-year-old earns double the salary while working at a brinjal farm in Japan.
“I have always been interested in agriculture,” Vignesh, who is from Kovilpatti in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district, told Moneycontrol. “And it was during the lockdown that I got a chance to reconnect with my passion. I began to tend to my family’s farms and soon realised that it was indeed my calling.”
But Vignesh’s family was not in favour of him earning a living out of agriculture. “They said there is no money to be made here. And they wanted me to have a stable income,” he said, and he soon found hope when he came to know of an opportunity in Japan.
“I heard from a friend about an institute that trains people in Japanese language and culture before helping them find jobs in the country and I got myself enrolled,” Vignesh said.
Chennai-based Nihon Edutech works in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and trains skilled workers in Japanese language, culture, etiquette, and technical training to place them in Japan. The country’s demand for farmers comes from its ageing population and its younger generation’s disinterest in agriculture.
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