Pahom wants to acquire as much land as possible because of his greed. In the story, Pahom's sole goal in life is to acquire as much land as he can get his hands on so that he can attain wealth through it. It is a telling example of colonialism and the relentless pursuit of wealth.
The Bashkirs promise to sell him as much land as he can traverse in a single day, which, to Pahom, seems like the deal of a lifetime. What he doesn't realize is how devastating his greed will be. The Bashkirs seem to understand that his greed has already completely consumed him, and he will be unable to resist the temptation to take as much as he can. When he tries to, it leads to Pahom's demise, revealing that, no matter how much land he tried to acquire, he only needed about six feet—for his coffin.
The simple answer is that he's very greedy. Pahom just loves buying land. In fact, he can't get enough of it. His reputation for acquisitiveness has made him an object of hatred among the other peasants, but Pahom doesn't care. His sole ambition in life is to buy as much land as possible and become a wealthy landlord.
So, when he comes across the Bashkirs, he thinks he's hit pay dirt. The Bashkirs make Pahom what appears to be the deal of the century: they will sell him as much land as he can traverse on foot in a single day. Pahom's so blinded by greed that he doesn't see the inherent dangers in what appears to be such an unbeatable bargain. In the course of trying to walk around as much land as he can, Pahom ends up dropping down dead from exhaustion. Pahom's insatiable greed for land has killed him. He failed to realize that the only answer to the question "How much land does a man need?" is "Enough to bury his coffin."
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