Marked trend towards purchase of farmland on city outskirts seen among residents; Kamshet, Yewat among popular places For some it is a way of keeping their kitchen well stocked with quality food in these times of skyrocketing prices, for others it is just a desire to go back to the simple life. Whether to provide for their table or as a hobby, a marked trend of people buying agricultural land to practise farming can be seen in the city. <table style="width: 102px; height: 42px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="102" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/jan/farming.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> Tilling away: Women labourers working in an onion field at Junnar village. Pic/Jignesh Mistry </td></tr></tbody></table>Estate agents in the city say an increasing number of people are purchasing agricultural land for cultivating it with a variety of crops along withu00a0 horticulture and floriculture. u00a0 Vijay Sabnis from the RS Consulting in Magarpatta said the trend was now gathering pace in the city. "I have been observing this trend for the past year and it seems to have picked up pace ever since inflation touched an all-time high. People, especially high net worth individuals, seem to have become seriously interested in farming and are planting medicinal plants and earning profits," said Sabnis. "Around 100 acres of such land has been sold till date." Bajirao Dhande (50), a businessman from Hadapsar, now cultivates mangoes, wheat and maize at his newly bought seven-and-half-acre farmland in Nandgaon. "I bought this land six to seven months ago with the sole intention of farming, not only as a hobby but also as a social cause. A time will come when there will be no agricultural land left, and whatever will be left will be completely non-arable, given the breakneck speed at which industrialisation and high-end commercial spaces are coming up," said Dhande. "I sell my crop at cheap rates so that the poor can afford it. I do keep something for myself, of course, but that is meagre amount." Arvind Patil of Property Ventures in Kondhwa said such a shift was a healthy trend that the government needed to encourage. "People who have earned a lot of money over the years and now want to lead a retired life are the ones venturing into this field as all you require is financial backing," said Patil. "The government too should change its policy and allow non-farmers too buy arable land." Land purchase experts mention that the most popular places are Kamshet, Yewat and small chunks around Pune-Satara road and in Shirur, Haveli, Mulshi and Mawal talukas. SK Joshi (48), a city-based corporate executive with a leading electrical pump manufacturing company, has bought about five acres in Biwari village, a few kilometres from the city, where he grows sweet gourd and spinach. "I now sell a very small portion in the Hadapsar market," said Joshi. "The income is not all that high, but the crop isenough for my monthly consumption.

Marked trend towards purchase of farmland on city outskirts seen among residents; Kamshet, Yewat among popular places

Punekars' new passion: farming

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Punekars' new passion: farming

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