March 5, 2010
A
regular job with a private company cannot douse the passion for farming in this
young man, who eagerly awaits Fridays to pick up the spade. Salim Joseph
joins Ishaq Mohammed Al Nadhabi, ‘a farmer with a difference’, as he
tends to his beloved saplings on his farmland in Samail.
In a quick gesture, he leans down to cut with a sickle a
bunch of fresh lettuce from the green patch and holds it out. “Just try and see
how differently it tastes. And ask me for more,” he chuckles.
He can no more be identified with the men bearing those
monotonous looks that had gripped them ever since they secured a permanent job
in some government or private firms. He is now the creator, enjoying a farmer’s
unity or oneness with nature or his power that has its roots in the vast
knowledge that has traveled from generations to generations.
Ishaq Mohammed Al Nadhabi inherited not just the farmland
but also the passion for farming from his forefathers. But when the young men
of his era went in search of newer pastures, in businesses and employment in
various sectors, he thought he shouldn’t be left out. And Ishaq had no problem
in finding a job in the credit control and collection department of a private
firm.
But how could a youth who joined his father to dig the good
earth with picks and shovels at the age eight or nine renounce his basic
instincts or let his passion die for objectives that don’t worth it? Ishaq
eagerly waits for Fridays, or any holidays to stay at the family-owned 10-acre
land in Samail, a farm-belt in the wilayat of Bidbid, and work along with the
few farmhands he has employed.
“My father died around 20 years ago when I was entering my
teen and my brothers are all employed in various Ministries and in the Defence.
It’s me who now looks after the farm, which our forefathers had tilled for some
200 years or may be much more,” says Ishaq. And it’s not just date palms,
lemons or mangoes that grow in his land blessed with plentiful ground water,
but plantains, vegetables and very rare medicinal and flowering plants.
A farmer with a difference
What makes Ishaq stand out from many other farmers in the
area is his enthusiasm in taking his friends, colleagues and others who are
interested to visit his farm, tirelessly briefing them on various crops and
rare herbal species and their uses and frequently offering the curious guests a
taste of the raw leaves, bulbs and seeds, fresh from his garden.
“Throughout the year, a lot of people come to my farm just
to have a look at it and I take them around,” he says. And when friends come
with their families, what attracts the children most are the ducks, rabbits,
chicken and cattle that are a part of his precious and charming property. “I
had kept poultry in a big way before, but rodents were giving me a hell of a
time always,” Ishaq has to fight rats to keep his chicks safe.
Agriculture, he says, is the backbone of any country and
here in Oman, the farmers enjoy full support from the government, whether it’s
with regard to supply of seeds or provision of irrigation facilities. “It’s my
firm conviction that the youth from farming communities don’t have to desert
their farms for high profile jobs elsewhere. They at least can find time to
manage both,” Ishaq asserts.
Married and father of two girls and two boys, Ishaq doesn’t
believe in just preserving what was bequeathed to him. “We need to improve, be
innovative and expand. May be I need more money for that, but I can’t help it
as farming is in my blood,” he says.
It cannot be otherwise, as Ishaq has taken a month’s leave
from last week to work in his farm. “Some people think I am crazy taking leave
to work in my farm. But I have to and I always have that longing to be in my
farm,” he adds.
Off the Samail-Sur main road and nestling beneath high
mountains is a calm and cool plot which Ishaq is now developing into a lemon
and orange farm. And adjacent to the farm is a park taking shape, for the
public. “It’s for the local people and tourists who will definitely enjoy the
place for it’s sheer beauty and cool climate,” Ishaq says. Apart from a
children’s playground, the park will have a basketball court and a swimming
pool.
“I was a basketball player and all what I do is connected
someway to my natural instincts and passions,” Ishaq beams. “And I feel so
happy and content when I have guests here who are so eager to see and know
about everything in my farm,” he says as he breaks a pod of a wild pea for all
to taste. “Hmm…it’s a bit sour, but tastes good,” they say, ready to imbibe
more from the nature’s lap.
