Five engineer couples who quit jobs to build profitable farming enterprises

Engineering is not just a field of study. It trains the mind to break down problems into manageable pieces, test solutions, and maximise outcomes. For five Indian engineer couples, these skills became the foundation of successful farming enterprises even though they did not study agriculture in school or college.

Leaving behind corporate careers, some in software and some in mechanical and civil engineering, they chose farming as a business opportunity. These stories show that when engineering logic meets farming realities, agriculture becomes not just viable, but resilient.

What connects these couples is not the crop they grow, but the way they approach farming as an integrated enterprise, with a sharp focus on processing, branding, and direct sales. This has made their ventures profitable.

For all of them, sustainability is a strategy. As a result, organic practices, water efficiency, indigenous breeds, and climate-resilient crops were well-thought-out business decisions and not just ethical choices.

Backed by data, experimentation, and direct market linkages, these five couples are cashing in on a range of farming opportunities, from organic vegetables and lemongrass to millets, mushrooms, and dairy.

1. Poonam and Naveen Patwal - Growing exotic mushrooms

Poonam and Naveen Patwal, engineers by qualification, chose one of the most unconventional paths in farming. They began cultivating exotic mushrooms in Uttarakhand. Starting small, they experimented with shiitake and other high-value varieties before attempting something considered nearly impossible. They cultivated gucchi mushrooms, which typically grow wild in Himalayan forests, indoors.

The breakthrough came through controlled environments, temperature regulation, and repeated trials, a process that mirrored engineering R&D more than traditional farming. Today, their enterprise Planet Mushroom supplies premium mushrooms to hotels, exporters, and urban consumers. Their annual turnover is Rs 15 crore.

Their story highlights how precision and controlled systems can unlock new possibilities in agriculture, especially for niche, high-value crops.

2. Charmy and Shreekant Malde - Ethical dairy with global reach

Charmy and Shreekant Malde, engineers turned agripreneurs, entered farming through dairy, a segment known for price fluctuations and quality concerns. They built GauNeeti Organics in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, around A2 milk from indigenous cows. They focus on animal welfare, organic feed, and transparent sourcing.

Instead of selling raw milk alone, they diversified into ghee, butter, paneer, and other dairy products, eventually exporting to international markets. They have forged strong farmer partnerships, provided them with training, and offer fair pricing.

GauNeeti’s annual turnover is Rs 2 crore.

Their engineering background helped in designing efficient supply chains, cold storage systems, and quality protocols, which are crucial in a sector where small lapses can erode trust.

3. Gauri and Dilip Parab - Turning lemongrass into an enterprise

Gauri and Dilip Parab, both software engineers, left their corporate jobs with L&T Infotech to start lemongrass farming in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district. They chose lemongrass because it is climate-resilient, low-maintenance, and suited to the region’s soil.

But cultivation was only the first step. The couple invested in a distillation unit to extract lemongrass oil and later diversified into soaps, floor cleaners, and wellness products. By focusing on value addition, they ensured higher margins and year-round income. The turnover was Rs 30 lakh in the last fiscal.

Equally important was their emphasis on community involvement. Local women were trained in processing and packaging, creating employment while expanding production capacity. Their journey underlines that farming becomes viable when it moves beyond raw produce to processing, branding, and people.

4. Kalyani and MN Dinesh - Bringing millets back to Indian homes

For Kalyani and MN Dinesh, both civil engineers and founders of Earth 360, farming became a mission to revive millets, once staple grains that were pushed aside by rice and wheat. Working closely with farmers, they built supply chains around ragi, jowar, and other traditional grains.

Their innovation lay in processing and product development. They turned millet into flours, ready-to-cook mixes, and snacks designed for modern kitchens. Engineering principles guided everything from machinery selection to quality control and scalability.

Their annual turnover was Rs 2.05 crore in FY24.

By creating steady demand, Earth 360 gave farmers confidence to shift acreage back to millets, which require less water and chemical inputs. The venture shows how farming success today often depends on market education and consumer behaviour, not just yields.

5. Rashmi and Ankur Sachan – Building a farm-to-fork organic brand in Kanpur

For Rashmi, a mechanical engineer, and Ankur Sachan, a software engineer, farming began as a return to their ancestral land in Kanpur during the COVID outbreak. However, instead of conventional cultivation, they chose organic, diversified farming with a clear farm-to-fork model. The couple rebuilt degraded soil using natural inputs, composting, and crop rotation, gradually transforming their land into a biodiverse farm with seasonal crops, fruits and timber trees.

What sets them apart is their work towards processing and branding, not just production. Turmeric was turned into powder (Rs 600 per kg), wheat into dalia (Rs 90 per kg) and flour (Rs 60 per kg), oilseeds into cold-pressed oils, pulses into packaged staples, and fresh vegetables delivered directly to consumers.

By eliminating intermediaries and focusing on traceability, they built trust with urban buyers seeking clean food. Their engineering mindset helped them design workflows, manage logistics, and maintain consistency, which are critical challenges in small-scale organic farming.

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

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