JAGATSINGHPUR: At 62, Sanjukta Das proves that age can hardly be a barrier to achieve life goals. When she decided to take up livestock farming, the objective was not merely to improve her own financial condition; she wanted to demonstrate that rural women could build sustainable livelihoods through systematic farming and, in the process, create employment opportunities for others.
Today, Sanjukta’s determination has transformed a modest livelihood initiative into a growing piggery and dairy enterprise that is inspiring scores of rural women to explore farming as a sustainable source of income. She herself earns a handsome Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 a month.
She began her journey with the formation of the Haraparbati Self-Help Group (SHG) in 2000. The group had 10 members, and Sanjukta was its secretary. Over the years, she and the other members undertook several income-generating activities, including running a PDS dealership, cooking under the mid-day meal programme, and preparing incense sticks, papad and badi. They sold their products at exhibitions organised by the district administration and the state government.
However, Sanjukta wanted to create a more stable and sustainable source of livelihood. In 2024, she decided to venture into piggery and dairy farming, initially investing just Rs 10,000 in the livestock venture with support from the SHG. The initiative gradually expanded as the pigs multiplied, with each sow producing around 10 to 12 piglets a year. She now sells around 40 to 50 pigs annually at prices ranging from Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000, depending on their size. The pigs are supplied to buyers in Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata and other places.