Nagpur, March 20 A farmer in Maharashtra, who once could not afford to buy clothes but gradually built a poultry business empire with an annual turnover of crores, has been invited to share his insights as an agri-entrepreneur at the University of Oxford.
Ravindra Manikrao Metkar, 57, from Mhasala Anjangaon Bari village in Amravati district, has been invited to speak at the Global Research Conference to be hosted at the University of Oxford in the UK from May 1 to 5, with the theme "AI for Every Mind."
The conference is being organized by the Global Economic Forum (GEF) in collaboration with the university.
A letter inviting Metkar to the conference says, "Considering your experience and contributions as an Indian Agri Entrepreneur, your presence and insights will be highly valuable to the discussions and collaborative exchanges during the conference."
Metkar started his poultry farming venture from the terrace of his house in 1984, while he was still studying in junior college. He started with Rs 3,000 that he received from his father, who worked as a Class IV employee in the forest department. His small poultry farm then had only 100 birds.
After completing his master's degree in commerce, his mother received four acres of land from her mother at Chandurbazar in Amravati. The family then sold that land and bought one acre of land at Badnera in the district.
Speaking to