While many graduates pursue corporate or government careers, Kaling Siram, an English literature postgraduate from Arunachal Pradesh, has demonstrated that scientific and diversified farming can be equally rewarding. Inspired by his mother's success in agriculture, Siram transformed 40 acres of farmland into a flourishing agribusiness that now spans dairy, fisheries, horticulture, and high-value exotic fruit cultivation.

After completing his master's degree in English literature, Siram chose not to seek a government job. Instead, he worked as a contractor, saved enough money, and purchased 40 acres of land at Sille in East Siang district in 2017 to pursue farming full-time.

He initially started with dairy farming, earning a monthly profit of ₹15,000–20,000 from milk sales. Encouraged by the returns, he invested in fish farming by developing five ponds fed by perennial groundwater. The venture proved successful, generating nearly ₹5 lakh from fish sales in its first commercial year.

Building on this success, Siram diversified into crop cultivation and horticulture. Along with paddy, mustard, and sesame, he introduced high-value exotic fruits including dragon fruit, avocado, mangosteen, longan, and macadamia.

Among these, dragon fruit has emerged as his most promising crop. With an expected harvest of around 3,000 kg this season and wholesale sales projected at nearly ₹12 lakh, Siram believes it will become one of his farm's biggest revenue sources. Sesame cultivation alone earned him approximately ₹7 lakh in profit last year.

To establish the farm, Siram has invested nearly ₹1.5 crore, covering land acquisition, machinery, infrastructure, and cultivation. The farm now provides year-round employment to ten workers, who earn monthly salaries ranging from ₹12,000 to ₹15,000.

Despite limited institutional support during the early stages of developing his fish ponds, Siram continued expanding his enterprise through self-learning. He credits YouTube tutorials, practical experience, and guidance from his mother and relatives for helping him adopt modern scientific farming practices.

Looking ahead, he plans to expand into tea and oil palm cultivation while continuing to experiment with high-value horticultural crops.

Siram believes agriculture offers a sustainable career option for young people, particularly in states where land resources are available but government employment opportunities remain limited. He encourages educated youth to embrace scientific farming, arguing that successful farm management can provide financial security, entrepreneurship, and greater independence.

Even as agriculture has become his profession, Siram says his love for literature remains unchanged, with William Shakespeare, John Milton, and Charles Dickens continuing to be among his favourite authors.