How this farmer earns Rs50 lakh per month from marigold flowers

Arup Ghosh has been interested in flowers since childhood. He grew up in West Bengal’s Kolaghat, which supplies flowers to wholesalers and retailers across India. By the time he was 17, Arup began working with flower vendors to learn more about the flower business.

After understanding the basics, he visited Hyderabad’s Gudimalkapur Flower Market, which procures marigold strings, tube roses (rajnigandha) and other flowers from Kolaghat.

In Hyderabad, he took up a job at one of the shops. “I worked for Rs3500 per month. Though the salary was low, it was a good learning opportunity,” says 33-year-old Arup. 

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He learned about the quality and type of flowers, which fetched good money. Once back in Kolaghat, he began to sell marigold strings and gladiolus to flower shops in other cities.

“I would purchase them at Rs120 per string and sell at Rs140 to Rs150, making a profit of Rs2,000 to Rs3,000 on 100 strings.

It was during this time that he realised the margins in commercial flower cultivation or floriculture. So he took one bigha (0.25 acre) of land on lease and decided to grow marigolds. “In 2011, I bought marigold saplings of the local Kolkata variety. It resulted in small-sized flowers and I suffered a loss,” he recollects.

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Thailand Tennis Ball Marigold Variety

After that loss, he decided to visit Thailand, which is home to one of the biggest flower markets in the world – the Bangkok Blossom Market. There, he saw high-quality flowers including the Tennis Ball Marigold variety, which produces bright, round flowers.

They are suited for long-distance shipping as the dense flowers don’t crush easily. The yields are high and there is a big market for this variety. 

“Thailand tennis ball variety marigold grows only two feet, making the plant resilient to strong winds. It starts yielding flowers in two months. They fetch a higher rate of Rs50 to Rs60 per kg in the Indian market," he says. 

The local variety, however, sells for Rs35 to Rs40 per kg. That is why many nursery owners now sell fakes of Thailand variety at high rates to make money. They, however, yield small flowers. 

 In Thailand, Arup met a farmer, who took him to a local nursery. He spent three months in that country and learned how to prepare seeds and saplings of the Tennis Ball Marigold variety. 

“While coming back, I brought 25 grams seeds of each variety – yellow and orange – and started farming on the one bigha land I had leased,” he says.

In 2012, Arup harvested a good amount of marigold flowers and sold them in the Kolaghat market at Rs100 per kg. “The local farmers began asking me for plants. Then I expanded to six bigha (1.5 acres) and started making saplings and seeds for others,” he says.

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 The floriculture business

Today, people from across India buy Thai marigolds from his farm-cum-nursery in Kolaghat. “I have expanded cultivation to 63 bighas (21 acres). Every year, I sell four crore saplings and 1500 kg of seeds of the Thai variety,” he says.

 While he sells one lakh saplings for Rs40,000 (40 paise per plant), a kg of seeds cost Rs25,000. So his income from saplings is around Rs1.6 crore (4 crore X 40 paise) annually while seeds bring in Rs3.7 crore (1500kg X Rs25,000). 

Arup also sells marigold flowers for five months in a year. The rest of the time, the flowers are used to make seeds.

 “I harvest around 800 kg to 1,000 kg marigold flowers daily, clocking Rs50,000 per day (Rs75 lakh in five months). The production dips during extremely cold weather,” he adds.

“Per acre operating costs are around Rs3 lakh a year (Rs 63 lakh for 21 acres),” he points out. It includes labour charges and land rent. So the annual net profit is still over Rs 5.25 crore.  

The saplings are ready for sale around October. “The plants are sold across India till mid-February. The maximum sales come from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (Pushkar and Ajmer),” says Arup, adding that people have to place orders in advance. 

 Marigold seeds also sell out by January or early February every year, he adds. Flowers are dried, and their base is opened to collect the seeds, which resemble black and brown threads. These seeds are air-dried and are then ready for sale. “One marigold flower gives around ten seeds,” Arup points out.

He employs 80 workers on his farm who help in the preparation of saplings and seeds and also in harvesting and packaging of flowers. They are involved in every stage of flower cultivation and seed production. 

“I give them higher-than-market wages,” he adds.

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

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