Core values

Farming too can be quite rewarding – both mentally and financially. Drought! Loans! Untimely rains! Low market prices! It often seems like farmers have endless suffering in their lives. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why none of us wants our kids to become a farmer. Instead, we all want them to immerse themselves in law or medical books so they can make their careers a big success. But are these career options the only way to be successful? Definitely not. This Kisan Diwas, let’s see why even farming too can be quite rewarding – both mentally and financially. Here are five people in India who prove this to be true: 1. Pramod Gautam: Meet Pramod, a former automobile engineer who switched to farming in 2006, and now gets a yearly turnover of a crore, after implementing a radically different method of cultivation. In 2006, after feeling unsatisfied in his job as an automobile engineer, Pramod abandoned engineering and decided to give farming an earnest shot on his 26-acre ancestral land. Initially, Pramod faced his share of challenges. He planted white groundnuts and turmeric but reaped no benefits. Availability of labour was another big issue as workers preferred to migrate to cities and work in factories. Pramod decided to switch to other crops and modern farm equipment, which were not so labour intensive. An example of such types of equipment used by some Indian farmers is the driverless tractor technology – developed by Mahindra for such situations. Incidentally, farmers like Pramod can make such choices now since, unlike before, they do not have to buy all the equipment. Even with a low budget, they can rent farm equipment using apps like Trringo. In 2007-08, Pramod switched wholly to horticulture. He planted oranges, guavas, lemons, sweet limes, raw bananas and Toor Dal. Pramod also decided to start his own mill. Pramod sells the processed and unpolished pulses under the brand name of ‘Vandana’.  He has an annual turnover of about Rs. 1 crore from his dal mill and an additional Rs 10-12 lakh from horticulture, which is much more than what he was earning as an engineer! 2. Sachin Kale: Like Pramod, Sachin is a mechanical engineer from Nagpur who started his career by working at a power plant and rapidly rose to the top over the years. In 2013, Sachin left his luxurious life in Gurgaon, where he was working as a manager for Punj Lloyd and getting a hefty salary of Rs 24 lakh per annum. He shifted to Medhpar to become a farmer. Talking about challenges, Sachin says: “Everything was a challenge, as I had absolutely no clue about farming. I had to learn everything from tilling the land to sowing the seeds.” Sachin invested his 15-year-old provident fund in setting up a clean energy model where his farm was useful all year round and gave a maximum of profit. In 2014, Sachin launched his own company, Innovative AgriLife Solutions Pvt. Ltd., which helped farmers with the contract farming model of farming. Today, Sachin’s company is helping 137 happy farmers working on 200 acres of land and drawing a turnover of approximately Rs 2 crore. 3. Harish Dhandev: Another engineer, Harish left his government job to take up Aloe Vera farming in Rajasthan – which proved highly successful, earning him crores. Once he decided to farm on his ancestral land in Jaisalmer, one of the first things that Harish did was to get his soil tested by the agricultural department. “The agriculture department suggested I grow crops like Bajra, Moong or Gawar – crops that require less water. They did not suggest growing Aloe Vera, in spite of the fact that we were already cultivating it, because of a lack of market opportunities for the crop in the Jaisalmer area,” says Harish. However, Harish did his own research online through resources like MyAgriGuru, which connects farmers with agri-experts across the country to allow an exchange of ideas. Harish discovered that if he set his sight further afield and used online portals to get to national and international markets, he could easily sell his produce well. Harish’s initial 80,000 saplings quickly grew in number to seven lakh. Within six months Harish managed to get ten clients for his Aloe Vera within Rajasthan itself. But soon discovered that they, in turn, were selling the extracted pulp at much higher prices. So he trained his farm labourers to extract the pulp, giving them all some extra income. Over the years, Harish has bought more land and now grows Aloe Vera over a hundred acres. His company, Dhandev Global Group, is located in Dhaisar, 45 kilometres from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and his turnover ranges between Rs. 1.5 to 2 crore. Through the above three stories, you may believe that only educated farmers can be successful. But that is hardly the case. 4. Vishwanath Bobade: A farmer from Bahirwadi, Vishwanath’s village is in the drought-prone Beed district of Maharashtra. However, he has earned Rs 7 lakh from farming on just one acre of land! Vishwanath decided to give multi-cropping a try, and he also figured out that he could increase his crop by building a wire fence and planting creepers and climbers on them. Vishwanath also installed a pipeline with his first-year profits to ensure sprinklers watered his plants. He has also picked up farming methods like raised-bed farming and mulching over the years, which has proved to be beneficial. Indeed, Vishwanath takes help of only two labourers at his farm. He and his wife work day and night to take care of the plants and hence the cost of production is less, giving them better profits. 5. Rajiv Bittu: Rajiv is a part-time Chartered Accountant and a full-time farmer. And according to him, he earns more from farming than his chartered accountancy firm! After his three-year-old daughter refused to mingle with farmers during one of his visits to his ancestral village, Rajiv decided to take up farming to change her views. His first step was to lease some land in Kuchu village, 32 km away from Ranchi. As he did not have the funds to pay rent for the land, he offered the landlord 1/3rd of the produce he grew. And thus his journey into agriculture began. He made use of the latest technology, like drip irrigation and mulching, to get a maximum yield at his farm. “Drip irrigation is the best way to reduce water wastage and labour cost, while mulching is nothing but a thin layer of plastic in which holes are made to put the seeds. This restores the sun rays for a long time and retains humidity of the soil. It also restricts the growth of weeds around the main crop,” Rajeev tells us from his farm. Halfway into 2014, Rajeev had a good harvest of watermelon and muskmelon. But the profit did not do justice to the investment. He then divided the land into small segments and calculated the investment made, labour cost, and the profit gained from each part. This gave him a clear idea of the economics of the farm. Rajeev planted different crops in each segment to calculate the exact ‘investment versus profit’ ratio of each harvest. This helped him to decide what crops should be planted next. Rajeev has now taken 32 acres of farm on lease and is growing brinjal, cucumber, watermelon, muskmelon and tomato and earns a profit of around Rs 15 to 16 lakh every year.

Corporates should come forward to work directly with farmers by Trade Promotion Council of India {Priyanka Singh} Priyanka Singh, Director, Taj Agro, opines that corporates should lease out their land and provide better competitive rates to farmers for their products. They should also impart training to horticulturists related to modern technology techniques being employed in horticulture. This would also improve the living standards of farmers to a great extent. BT: How have India’s horticulture exports progressed in the global market over the years? Which are the major product categories where India has been able to penetrate global markets? Priyanka Singh: India’s horticulture exports have seen phenomenal growth in last few decades due to many positive factors: Our farmers have increased the use of hybrid seeds, plants, saplings, advance sustainable harvesting techniques etc. from research institutes like PUSA; which have high yields as compared to traditional methods of farming. Farmers have now gradually started shifting from traditional farming to horticulture crops such as guavas, bananas, mangoes, dragon fruits etc. This leads to avoid price barriers and oversupply in the market; whilst still keeping demand for the traditional crops and sustainable prices to avoid losses.India’s farmers have now started using new technology for organic manure production, vermicompost, yearly crop diversification, soil testing, green house production of fruits and vegetables, consulting agri scientists via Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), drip water irrigation, solar water pumps etc. This is constantly helping them to produce high value nutritional horticulture products as per global standards and that is why India’s products have niche presence in the international markets.Indian farmers are opting for modern methods of cold storage for high value fruits and farm produce, better transportation, standard packaging in order to meet up export standards. Further, farmers are adapting to ISO 22000 standards along with the standard set by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). According to the latest market research and GDP stats, India is becoming one of the major international destinations for quality food procurement and also becoming world’s largest producer of several high value horticulture products and crops like spices, cashew, cashew nut shell liquid, Kashmiri saffron, fruit-vegetable seeds, fresh fruits, vegetable oil, fresh vegetables, processed vegetables, processed fruits and juices, floriculture products, tea, coffee, Ayush/medicinal and herbal products, cocoa, bonsai trees of mango, lychee, Tofu Cheese (Soya) and exotic fruits. IBT: What markets are we serving presently and what potential markets can be explored for exports? What are the challenges to expanding in these markets? Priyanka Singh: India is a leading exporter of high value nutritional horticulture products to major MENA destinations like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait etc. Along with it, we can explore European nations like U.K, Germany, France, Sweden, and Russian federation in future. Major challenges for expansion are as follows: India needs to form better bilateral trade with major European countries and Russian trade federation.Transportation cost may be on higher end, which may create issues for large volume exports.Better facility of inter-transit cold chain storage at shipyards and airports; more promptness at airport and cargo clearance are needed.Many exotic fruits are cultivated in India’s north east region but due to logistics and low-price margin, farmers are unable to present it globally. Inland rail connectivity may improve logistics in more farming-based zones in India.Pricing, assured payment and active banking channel needs to be formed, which is till date problem for small agro company exporters as most of companies in Europe don’t trade in Letter of Credit (LC) and bank guarantee. IBT: What are the major changes in global trade of horticulture post-COVID? Priyanka Singh: Due to Covid-19, global trade is at an all-time low and the consequent declines in trade and output is a painful consequence for all major business sectors. But restrictions on movement and social distancing, demand and supply chain disruption to slow down the spread of the disease meant that labour supply, transport, food delivery, and travel were directly affected. Whole sectors of global economies have been shut down, including horticulture trade activity. IBT: What are the opportunities for value addition, and what are the constraints exporters face in this regard? Priyanka Singh: We have immense potential in horticulture products exports which are relatively lesser known in the international markets like medicinal herbs, essential oils and other high value Ayurvedic offerings from India. There are a lot of next generation entrepreneurs coming in India in agri based segment, those who have high education and they all use modern technology and internet to promote their business, which is bringing positive feedback and better growth opportunities in the export markets. Along with this, new age entrepreneurs are educating horticulturists regarding latest market trends, modern sustainable cultivation method, online product promotion, new irrigation techniques, use of mobile based application for information forwarding etc. Taj Agro Farm India Further; more corporates should come forward in order to work directly with farmers (those are into horticulture) by leasing their land and providing better competitive rates for their products. The corporates could also impart training to horticulturists related to modern technology techniques being employed in horticulture. This would also improve the living standards of farmers to a great extent. The following constraints are felt by exporters: No one window approval solution for exporters and various licensing authorities.Presence of middle man brings additional cost disadvantage for end consumers.Less cultivation of high value products in horticulture segment despite of having age old tradition of growing medical herbs, Ayurvedic flowers, and exotic honey etc.Not enough corporate funding and direct purchase from horticulturists of India, especially mango, lychee, guava, banana etc.; which is grown seasonally mostly.Not enough buyers in horticulture products due to less awareness and advertisement.Timely transportation is big issue and due to this lots of fruits and vegetables gets wasted every year.More subsidy is required for dedicated horticulture growing farms to boost high value nutritional products. IBT: Albeit India produces more fruits & vegetables over cereals, it is the latter which are exported primarily by India? Why is that the case? How can Indian exporters be encouraged to take up horticulture exports? Priyanka Singh: India is world’s second largest exporter of rice along with cereals like wheat, sorghum, maize, millets etc. since long time as compared to fruits & vegetables, (floriculture and seeds) as our farmers are still into traditional methods of farming, where they give more preference on growing cereals due to lack of knowledge and awareness. Hybrid seeds and saplings of fruits and vegetables are more costly as compared to cereals in India.More subsidy is available for cereal growers / farmers as compared to horticulturists in India.Exports are less mainly due to high cost harvest losses in the food industryThere are higher export criteria of sampling and analysis for the presence of pesticides, heavy metals in vegetables and fruits, where Indian farmers are relatively still behind as compared to other nations.Horticulturist needs to work upon more cost-effective cultivation in India to reach more customers globally.needs to reduce various tax slabs for exporters to encourage fruit and vegetable growers; specially some subsidy is required for Air cargo as cereals are mostly shipped through Sea which is more cost effective.Indian horticulture export could be encouraged more by:-Following International packaging standardsOne window solution for various export related approvals like APEDA registration, (The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), Importer -Exporter Code (IEC), Phytosanitary Certificate, Halal, The Export Inspection Council (EIC) stock approval, and organic certifications etc.Horticulturists need to work upon collaborations with MNCs directly for gaining business insights of importing countries’ certifications, rules and regulations by organizing teleconferencing, webinar, etc. for mutual business development.Agro based companies which are working closely with farmers, floriculturists, and horticulturists are required to follow SOPs for farm growers, prompt and hygienic transportation, rapid sample lab test, fully automated and organic based farms, and dedicated staff team to handle rapid rejections and complaints of importers as fruits and vegetables are perishable goods as comparatively to cereals which has higher shelf life.Horticulturists in India need more support from FMCG Companies to promote and export premium quality fruits and vegetables like Kiwis, Guava, watermelon, Mango, Banana, mushroom, Celery, Bok Choy, Asparagus, hybrid brinjal and Lettuce etc.Another thing that we must do is increase the level and efficiency of food processing in the agro industry sector. Processed foods are exported in huge quantities across countries and demand is increasing a lot these days. So, focus should be to minimize losses by increasing cold storage efficient transport system etc. and also to focus on our existing food processing infrastructure in the country. IBT: Which are the top exporters in the world and what can we learn from other countries to boost its horticultural exports? Priyanka Singh: Top exporting countries in the world are United states of India, Australia, Netherlands, Russia, Israel, Brazil, Denmark etc. Indian farmers can learn a lot from countries like Israel, Netherlands, USA etc. to boost their crop yield: Systematic management of plant nutritional value is necessary because if a horticulturist does same crop cultivation for many years, the nutrients can be replenished by dead and decaying organic matter; therefore, annual crop rotation, and using organic manure can be proven beneficial for farmers.Growing mix crop could also bring maximum yield in same land.As Indian horticulture should also opt for modern technologies like drip irrigation, water recycling, opting for drone camera for crop and pest management, creating own biofertilizers, manures, self-operated robotic machines for crop harvesting, and most important affordable electronic security sensors could be installed in farm fields for crop protection from Blue bull. Priyanka Singh is Director at Taj Agro an export-oriented food processing company based in Mumbai, manufacturing & marketing all types of egg powders, protein powder, bulk frozen and IQF fruits and vegetables. The core idea of establishment of Taj Agro has been to connect rural Indian farmers in the supply chain and reduce the exploitation of middle men in the food industry. Also, its existing set of pharma and healthcare customers wanted to procure food products like Basmati Rice, protein powder, egg powder and other such daily commodities, under a trusted brand name with guaranteed quality. The company has earned the reputation of a distinguished exporter and supplier by offering a healthy and hygienic range of agricultural products at highly affordable prices.