What was initially a hobby turned into a money-making activity that brings in at least RM20,000 to a man in Kelantan.
66-year-old Mohd Omar started to plant around 30 trees of Callina Papayas in 2019 just to kill time. Little did he know, his hobby changed his fate and he started to receive demands for the papayas.
“The fruit has thick, red flesh. I noticed the potential of my hobby after many people started to demand for it, so I tried to triple the supplies.”
From only 30 trees, Omar now runs approximately 1.6 hectares of farm with more than 2,500 papaya trees. Omar, who is a former contractor is not going to stop what he has now, according to Sinar Harian.
“I spoke to my son earlier and he has agreed to help me in running another 1.6 hectares of farm.”
Business is booming for Omar. On average, he produces about 1,000 kilograms of papayas in a day, and there is a massive demand for the fruit because as of now, there is no competition that produces papayas commercially. Omar, unfortunately, is still struggling with the supplies.
It is still not enough to fulfill the market’s demand.
Papayas vs the weather
Omar admitted that his business is not something tough but like every other business out there, it is still prone to risks. For Omar, the uncertainties in weather is his enemy (and the papaya’s).
“Rainy season will easily cause damages to the fruits. I suffered around RM20,000 of losses when the papayas were drowned last time.”
Omar also shared some insider knowledge about his plantation. According to him, a papaya tree can produce up to 40 fruits at a time.
“In a year, a tree can grow up to 120 fruits.”
The retiree also said that he is more than happy to share his knowledge with anyone curious about the plantation. As of today, Omar is running a stall near his farm – Betik Callina where he sells RM10 for 3kg of the fruit.
What are your hobbies? Do you think your hobbies will bring you passive income?
