Team Blitz India
COCHIN: A migrant labourer- turned farmer in Kerala is creating history by becoming a successful model of creating prosperity with farming. The West Bengal native Milan Shaik, now settled in Kerala, is a media craze for his farming success in Kerala.
Milan is earning in Lakhs by exporting his farm products to distant shores. Milan Shaik, 28, hailing from Domkal in Murshidabad, West Bengal migrated to Kerala in search of livelihood.
Now a big-time farmer in Kerala cultivating tapioca, banana, and other vegetables on over 50 acres of land at Nedumbassery and Angamaly in Ernakulam was a daily wager.
Milan came to Kerala 13 years ago in search of his friend who had left his home in Domkal for a job. He was 14 when he reached Kerala looking for his friend. Upon reaching Kerala, he decided to stay back and work as a labourer in the construction sector.
For eight years, Milan worked on different construction sites and later started working in a tapioca field of a Kerala native who was kind enough to accommodate him in his fold.
For the last five years, he has been into farming on his own and has now leased over 50 acres of land in different places in Nedumbassery to cultivate tapioca. Apart from tapioca, he also grows banana, ash gourd, spinach, and okra. Most of his products are exported. He employs over 20 migrant workers on his farm.
“I came here as a labourer, and now I run a farm business. I am happy that I could find a better life in Kerala, which is truly the best place to live,” Milan told the media recently. Apart from farming, Milan also takes up social responsibility assignments to help other migrant labourers. During the Covid-19 lockdown period, he worked as a volunteer at Ernakulam Collectorate to provide support to migrant labourers in distress.