Five MBAs who quit jobs and became successful vegetable farmers

An MBA degree is highly valued in India. It is seen as a stepping stone for career growth and leadership roles. However, in the last few years, this degree has been serving another purpose – bringing farm produce to customers without middlemen and creating new-age agripreneurs.

Many MBAs are quitting their jobs and turning to farming. While farming has long been considered a low-paying occupation, MBA farmers are finding super success due to a combination of factors. 

They bring valuable business skills to an industry that lacks modern management practices. They leverage their MBA knowledge to implement innovative farming techniques, target specific market segments, and create sustainable, profitable ventures. 

They are driven by a desire to contribute to a sector that plays a crucial role in the Indian economy. The combination of business knowledge and farming is a potent one as it ensures high returns and creates a win-win situation for consumers and growers.

Here are five MBAs who quit their jobs to take up vegetable farming and became very successful due to their innovative farming and marketing techniques:

1. Sanjay Gupta, Assam

After an MBA in Finance from the University of Wales, UK, Rahul Gupta began working in the credit rating agency ICRA in Kolkata. However, he soon longed to return home to Tinsukia in Assam. He quit his job and began protected farming of vegetables in 2018-end. 

He harvests bell peppers and tomatoes for eight months a year and also grows leafy greens using hydroponics. He sells the veggies under the Fresh Farms brand and clocks a Rs 30 lakh turnover from just 1.5 acres.

Here’s his story: Assam’s MBA farmer clocks Rs30 lakh annual turnover from just 1.5 acre

2. Smarika Chandrakar, Chhattisgarh:

After working for five years in the telecom sector in Pune, Smarika wanted to get back home. Her father and grandfather had been farming in Charmudiya village in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district for almost six decades. And she wanted to work with them.

Smarika, who did her MBA from MIT School of Telecom Management, Pune before completing her engineering from Raipur, quit her job and began farming in 2021. 

She now grows tomatoes, cucumber and other vegetables in Chhattisgarh. One of the biggest vegetable growers in the state, she harvests 60,000 kg of brinjal and 55,000 kg of tomato per acre and sells veggies in local mandis and other states. 

“We have tie-ups with brokers and decide rates a day before harvesting. The vegetables are then packed and loaded for sale to brokers. Our vegetables go to various places in Bhubaneswar, Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Vishakhapatnam,” she says, adding that her MBA education came in handy in forging market tie-ups.

Here’s Smarika’s full story: MBA woman farmer harvests 55000 kg of tomatoes per acre; turns around her family farm

3. Rajeev Bhaskar, Punjab

An MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Rajeev quit his job with a seed and sapling company and has set up the first grafted vegetable nursery in north India in Sehjowal village of Punjab’s Rupnagar district. 

After tasting success with guava farming, Rajeev decided to try vegetable grafting which results in disease-resistant plants with a longer harvest period and higher yields. He clocked Rs 50 lakh turnover in FY24.

Here’s his story: MBA farmer pioneers vegetable grafting; clocks Rs50 lakh turnover

4. Aakash Thakkar, Maharashtra 

An MBA in Marketing from Mumbai University, Aakash grows organic vegetables and grains on his Thakkar farm in Karjat, 90 km from Mumbai. 

He began by selling organic vegetables at Mumbai’s weekly farmers’ markets and also home delivery to customers. Realising the importance of marketing in farming, he started taking orders over SMS and phone calls. Aakash’s father converted his old office into a distribution centre for sorting, grading, packing and dispatching the products to customers.

Apart from his farm, he also sources organic fresh produce from farmers across India and sells them online under The Farmer brand.

Here’s his story: How Maharashtra's MBA farmer built an organic food supermarket

5. Purva Jindal, Rajasthan

When Purva completed her MBA from Mumbai’s SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) in 2017, little did she know she would be a successful organic farmer someday.    

Purva began working on a barren piece of land in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, in 2021 and turned it into a flourishing organic farm. Her farm-to-fork brand Saakhi Organic now supplies vegetables and groceries directly to customers and is set for expansion. Her annual turnover was Rs25 lakh in FY24.

Here’s her story: MBA woman farmer turns barren land into organic vegetable farm; clocks Rs25 lakh revenues

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