Subhra Chatterjee, a B-Tech in electrical engineering left his job in an Italy-based corporate house and started horticulture farming with plantation of gerbera and orchids at 2,500 sq meters land close to his residence in Haripal of Hooghly district. He earns nearly Rs two lakh, almost two times higher than that of what he was getting in the company several years ago.

Nityananda Gorai, a civil engineering graduate of Gangajalghati in Bankura, also got interested in horticulture. He cultivates different species of fruits, including highly expensive mangoes of ‘Miyazaki’ species leaving his civil engineering job.

Pranab Kumar Mallick runs a brisk business of bonsai plantations on his three and a half bigha of land at his village in the Joypur area of Howrah district.

Mallick, who left the permanent job of an electrician in Tata Motors in Jamshedpur in 2015, is awaiting approval of the state food processing industries and horticulture department to export bonsai plants to foreign countries like Germany, Canada, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Similar is the case of a Jhargram-based MSc pass out Rajib Mondal. He left a Delhi-based IT company and started his own business in horticulture in his home town with a steady flow of earnings.

A three-day long Horti Food Festival 2024 at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday, the concluding day of the event, focused success stories on how young educated persons are getting interested in business related to plantations and farming of pineapples, mangoes, banana, oranges, orchids, gerberas, bonsai, cauliflowers of different colours.

“We are giving logistics support like setting up of polyhouse farming and financial subsidies to many farmers and even young educated enthusiasts. The state government is getting huge response from them across districts,” said Dr Subrata Gupta, additional chief secretary in charge of the food processing

Industry and horticulture department.

“I have started plantations of orchids and gerberas on 2,500 sq meters of land and I have a plan to expand my business on additional land of 1,500 sq meters. The state food processing industries and horticulture department provides 35 per cent subsidy of project cost and other logistic support,” said Subhra, a former IT employee of the Daniel India.

“Annual turnover in my bonsai plantation business is around Rs1.5 crore against an initial investment of Rs 25 lakh. I would request the state government to give me clearance for exporting bonsai plants to foreign countries,” Pranab said.