Engineer quits MNC for organic moringa farming; makes a profit of Rs6 lakh per acre

After completing his mechanical engineering in 2016, Sagar Khare got a job with the American company Adient, a global leader in automotive seating. Sagar worked as a project engineer at the MNC’s Pune office for two years and then wanted to return home to Kurduwadi village in Maharashtra’s Solapur district.

“I think when you grow up seeing farming as a way of life, you don’t necessarily enjoy a corporate job. My work was good, but I enjoyed being on the farm more. So I quit and returned home in 2019,” Sagar tells 30Stades.

His parents were involved in traditional farming of sugarcane, wheat, gram and other crops using chemicals. “The expenses were rising and the soil quality had deteriorated. It was impossible to make profits by continuing farming in that manner,” he says.

Shifting from traditional to organic farming of new crops

Sagar knew about increasing soil’s carbon content and improving its fertility. Alongside, he began researching about new-age crops with high demand that could flourish in the heat of Solapur where summer temperatures can cross 45 degrees Celsius.

“I learned about the rising demand for drumsticks and moringa leaf powder in India and overseas. I met moringa farmers in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh and understood it was a profitable crop,” he says.

Moringa oleifera plant yields drumsticks - the long, slender pods used in sambhar and curries. The leaves are dried and powdered. Both leaves and drumsticks have high nutritional content and medicinal properties, leading to good demand.

Also Read: How this couple clocks Rs8 lakh per acre from organic moringa farming

The global moringa market was valued at 9.5 billion dollars in 2022, as per Zion Market Research. India dominates the market and meets more than 80 percent of the global demand.  

“Moringa leaves need to be dried immediately upon harvesting and the cost of transporting loose dried leaves is high. So making powder from dried leaves is a good source of income for farmers apart from selling drumsticks and seeds,” Sagar says.

“Moringa for harvesting drumsticks is grown separately from moringa for leaves. I grow moringa for drumsticks over four acres and for leaves over one acre,” says Sagar. 

“My annual turnover from leaves grown on one acre is Rs12 lakh, from drumsticks 17 lakh and sale of seeds Rs 7 lakh. From five acres, I earn Rs36 lakh and make a profit of Rs30 lakh after deducting labour, manure and other expenses,” the agripreneur says.

Also Read: Scientist quits job to make organic moringa products; annual turnover at Rs 1.75 crore

Turning infertile soil into moringa machine

Sagar’s first task was to improve the soil’s carbon content, which increases fertility, and water retention, and helps mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

“I planted Dhaincha (Sesbania bispinosa), a leguminous green manure crop, twice at a gap of three months. Once Dhaincha grows to about two feet (45 to 50 days), it is cut and mixed with soil to increase nitrogen content,” he says.

Sagar also put up five beds of vermicompost to add to the soil. 

“We have three cows on the farm. I purchased 10 kg of Eisenia fetida earthworms for Rs4000 (Rs400 per kg) and made vermicompost by mixing them with cow dung,” Sagar says, adding that each bed yields 1 tonne of vermicompost every 2.5 months.

Using Dhaincha, vermicompost and cow dung manure improved soil fertility and carbon content. 

In 2020, he procured 2 kg seeds of the ODC3 moringa variety from a nursery in Tamil Nadu 2 kg for Rs 4000 per kg.  "One acre requires half a kg of seeds, which I directly put in the soil in June 2020. They started yielding drumsticks in January-February. I harvest 40 to 45 tonnes of drumsticks from four acres and earn about Rs17 lakh to Rs18 lakh,” he says.

Drumsticks are harvested twice a year – from April to June and October to December. They are also dried to procure seeds for sale. “Traders come to my farm for purchase. I don’t visit any market to sell my produce,” he says.

In one acre, Sagar grows moringa for its leaves. “The leaves are harvested at least four to five times a year,” he says.

The leaves are dried naturally under shade nets. “We make moringa powder from dry leaves. Wholesalers and organic stores buy directly from us at Rs500 to Rs600 per kg. The leaf powder yields Rs12 lakh annually,” he says.

Sagar encourages young farmers to opt for moringa cultivation. “If the soil is good, it requires less manure. Otherwise, there will be initially higher investment on manure, but it will pay off because moringa and drumstick are good for health and there is a rising market,” he adds.

(Rashmi Pratap is a Mumbai-based journalist specialising in financial, business and socio-economic reporting) 

Also Read: Couple leaves city life for organic moringa farming; clocks turnover of Rs10 lakh per acre

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