Five women farmers who turned struggling family farms into profitable enterprises

Farming has been a family occupation in India for centuries. It has been shaped by inheritance and a tendency towards risk aversion. Family farms often continue with the same crops and practices for generations, even when returns decline and costs rise.

Today, however, educated and aware women farmers are changing that narrative by considering agriculture as a business. Armed with education, exposure, and the courage to take calculated risks, these women stepped into family farms, which were struggling or stagnant and turned them around.

They questioned unviable crops and experimented with new farming models, invested in technology, and most importantly, built direct market linkages instead of depending solely on middlemen. 

The other common thread is organic or natural farming instead of chemicals. From vegetables and organic produce to orchards, nurseries and timber trees, they diversified income streams and reduced vulnerability to market shocks.

They made independent decisions on crop choices and investments, proving that profitability in agriculture is possible with planning and persistence. For them, innovation was not always high-tech. Sometimes it was as simple as switching crops, improving soil health, or selling directly to consumers.

Here are five women who transformed their family farms into thriving enterprises. Their stories show that when women lead, farms evolve.

1. Smarika Chandrakar (Chhattisgarh) – From paddy to vegetables

Smarika Chandrakar, an MBA, left her corporate job in Pune to return to her family’s paddy farm in Chhattisgarh, only to realise that traditional grain cultivation was no longer sustainable. Taking a bold risk, she shifted to high-value vegetable farming, introducing tomatoes, brinjal, cucumber and gourds. She invested in drip irrigation, raised-bed cultivation and staggered planting to ensure continuous harvests.

“Farming is a profitable business and must be treated as a business only. Good marketing and human resources are as important in farming as in any other business,” Smarika tells 30Stades.

Instead of relying on local mandis, Smarika focused on bulk buyers and inter-state markets, which significantly improved price realisation. “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,” the agripreneur adds.

Today, her farm earns an annual income of over Rs 1–1.5 crore, while also providing employment to local villagers. Her success lies in treating farming as a volume-driven, market-oriented business.

2. Roja Reddy (Karnataka) - Saving the farm through organic transition

When Roja Reddy, an engineer at IBM in Bengaluru, returned home for the holidays in 2018, she found that her brother and father were planning to sell the family farm due to mounting financial losses.

She stopped them and took a contrarian route by switching entirely to organic farming.

The transition phase was risky, with lower yields, but Roja focused on rebuilding soil health and reducing input costs. She cultivated organic vegetables and fruits, built trust with urban buyers, and created reliable supply chains.

Over time, her farm stabilised and scaled, generating annual revenues of over Rs1 crore. Roja’s key strategy was patience to absorb short-term losses to create a resilient, premium-positioned farm in the long run.

3. Kavita Mishra (Karnataka) – From barren land to sandalwood empire

Kavita Mishra inherited barren family land that few believed could be productive. Instead of short-term crops, she made a bold, unconventional choice: a sandalwood plantation. With long gestation but exceptionally high value, sandalwood requires patience, regulatory understanding and careful planning.

Kavita planted over 2,000 sandalwood trees, supported by intercrops and integrated farming to generate interim income.

Today, her plantation is expected to yield over Rs 4 to 5 crore at maturity. Allied activities, like growing organic fruits, vegetables and a plant nursery, already provide a steady cash flow. Her story stands out for long-term vision and proves that farming success doesn’t always come from annual crops.

4. Anita Negi (Himachal Pradesh) – from chemical to natural farming 

Anita Negi’s family farm in Himachal Pradesh suffered from declining yields due to chemical-intensive practices. Her hands and face would itch, and her head would ache after spraying chemicals on plants despite all precautions.

A government-sponsored camp on natural farming changed her thought process. She faced criticism and backlash from her family for giving up chemicals. After she proved herself on a small patch of land, she was allowed to convert family orchards and fields to chemical-free cultivation, growing apples, pears, plums, persimmons and vegetables.

Within a few years, reduced costs and premium pricing transformed farm economics. Anita now earns around Rs 60 lakh annually, while also running a sapling nursery and training farmers for free. Her success shows sustainability and profitability can go hand-in-hand when women make farming decisions rooted in ecology.

5. Santosh Khedar (Rajasthan) – Organic orchards in the desert

In Rajasthan’s dry Shekhawati region, Santosh Khedar inherited 1.25 acres of family land, which yielded a monthly income of only Rs 2,500. She then learned about organic farming and challenged the belief that orchards cannot thrive in arid zones.

She introduced organic cultivation of pomegranate, lemon, guava, papaya and other plants. She used efficient irrigation and soil management.

The mainstay of her farm has been organic practices, like the use of cow dung manure, vermicompost, jeevamrut and other inputs. They increased the soil’s carbon content, resulting in the successful growth of apples in the desert.

She has expanded into a sapling nursery, supplying fruit plants across states, which has become a major income source. Today, Santosh earns an estimated Rs 40 lakh annually from farming and nursery operations. Her strategy combined diversification, value addition and training other farmers, which has turned a small family plot into a regional model.

(Riya Singh is a Ranchi-based journalist who writes on environment, farming, sustainability, startups, & women empowerment).

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