Banker turned entrepreneur- By Pig business.

Manoj Basumatary, has resigned from his job as Chief Manager of SBI at the Rail Bhawan, Delhi branch in 2013, to start a business in pig rearing. Passed out from Goalpara Sainik School in 1992, graduated from St Stephen’s College, and subsequently cleared the Bank Probationary Officer’s examination to join the SBI as a Probationary Officer in 1998, fired with the zeal to do something worthwhile for the general uplift of his economically backward community in his own simple way.

In an exclusive interview, Manoj revealed his missionary zeal for working in the field for ensuring sustainable economic growth of the tribal people through piggery. The former banker said that the tribal people are more accustomed to pig-rearing than other farming activities.

Accordingly, he started entrepreneurship the same year at his native village Dhekidol at Ghoramari by establishing a modern and automated pig rearing-cum-breeding farm named Symbiotic Foods Private Limited covering an area of about two bighas of land.

Pointing out certain constraints in this venture, Manoj Basumatary also stated that the reason for the shortage of pork is many, including the non-availability of quality piglets, non-availability of swine vaccines in the region, and very few commercial farms in the sector. Like broilers, piggery is yet to grow as an industry.

Pig rearing practices are still very traditional in nature and are mostly being done by the tribal and backward communities. Most women are involved in this activity. However, a pig reared in the household plays an important role for the women farmers. It works as an insurance and financial security. Be it a marriage in the family, education of the children, or medical emergency, it's the pig that is sold to tide over these exigencies, he said.

Today my company has been able to mobilize investment from abroad as FDI for this venture. We are in the course of becoming a world-class rural enterprise and role model for rural entrepreneurs. I feel there is much potential in the rural areas to explore, exploit and develop phenomenally. I would therefore like to request the new generation to aspire to become job creators instead of job seekers, he mentioned. He added that right now he has more than 100 animals on his farm and has been guided very sincerely by Dr. Dhireswar Kalita, Professor at the Guwahati-based Veterinary College.

He along with his co-entrepreneur Khanindra Kalita has been working in their Symbiotic Foods Pvt. Ltd to work on the value chain of piggery. Manoj, who has served in different capacities in the banking sector and worked in both rural and urban areas by supervising three branches very successfully during his banking career, spoke about his experience of visiting many world-class pig-farming establishments abroad.

He voluntarily left a secure job to peruse my dream of establishing a world-class rural enterprise. His dream is to make Symbiotic Foods a Rs 100 crore turnover rural enterprise within 5 years. At present, they are involved in the breeding of quality piglets. They are breeding Hampshire and crossbred sows. They are also planning to introduce other high-yielding internationally popular breeds like Large White Yorkshire, Landrace, and Duroc.

They have also done contract farming with rural women in piggery and said  that the rural areas have immense potential for economic development if someone really wants to do something.