How this Haryana sugarcane farmer earns Rs 16 lakh per acre

When Jogesh Malik joined his family farm in Gohana in Haryana’s Sonipat district in 2011, they cultivated paddy, wheat and sugarcane. After the division of the family’s property, Jogesh inherited 4.5 acres of land and realised that sugarcane farming economics just did not work.

Farmers sell sugarcane at Rs 3 or Rs 4 per kg to sugar mills and wait for months for payments.

“The earnings just about cover input costs. I thought of changing the income model instead of changing the crop,” Jogesh tells 30Stades.

In 2019, he began researching processing options for sugarcane beyond jaggery. “In jaggery, you need very high volumes for commercial success. Sugarcane juice is a better option as it can be started on a small scale,” Jogesh says.

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Today, he earns Rs 16 lakh turnover per acre by processing organically grown sugarcane (around 200 quintals) into juice, chuski (sugarcane popsicles), and an unnamed product he calls “sugarcane honey”.

“Value addition and a startup mindset can transform small-scale agriculture into a viable enterprise,” he says.

From farming to entrepreneurship

Jogesh completed his ITI diploma in Draughtsman (Mechanical) in 2012, but farming remained a central part of his life. The turning point came in 2019. “At that time, sugar mills were paying around Rs 3 per kg of sugarcane (Rs 4 now). When I calculated the returns from juice, the income potential was much higher.”

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Typically, a kilogram of sugarcane yields 500 ml to 600 ml of juice. “A glass of 250 ml juice sells for Rs 20, resulting in an income of at least Rs 40 from a kg of sugarcane. This is ten times what you get from sugar mills months later,” he explains.

The next step was to create a model for the sale of juice.

To sell and popularise his products, Jogesh turned his tractor into a food trailer, serving fresh sugarcane juice and popsicles.  He invested around Rs 3 lakh in adding the trailer (with processing equipment) to the tractor.

The trailer houses a juice-making machine, a freezer to store popsicles and juice, and peeled sugarcanes for processing.

“I prepare juice on order, and popsicles are stored in the freezer. The total investment of Rs 7 lakh (including the tractor cost) can be recovered in the first year,” he says.

The trailer’s roof has solar panels. “This solar energy is used in running the freezer, juice extraction, and lighting of the food trailer. This makes the food tractor mobile,” he says.

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Economics of sugarcane business

Currently, Jogesh operates one tractor-mounted outlet for direct sales and also supplies products to retailers dealing in natural and organic foods across Haryana. “They stock my products,” he says.

Chuski has emerged as the top-selling product. Priced at Rs 20 per piece, it accounts for the highest volume of sales, especially during the summer months. Sugarcane juice is sold at Rs 30 to Rs 40 per glass, depending on location, serving size and season.

From an average yield of 200 quintals per acre, Jogesh generates a turnover of about Rs 8,000 per quintal. This translates to Rs 16 lakh per acre from sugarcane.

The total cost of sugarcane farming per acre is about Rs 40,000, while processing infrastructure and operational expenses range between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 4 lakh.

“The profit is Rs 12 lakh per acre. The high profit is only because of direct processing and retailing,” he adds.

To support processing and storage, he has invested in 8 to 10 freezers with capacities ranging from 350 to 550 litres. The operation employs four to five people, depending on seasonal demand.

Beyond sales, Malik has begun sharing his model with others. He has trained farmers from Maharashtra and other states in natural sugarcane farming and value-added processing of sugarcane.

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Organic farming of sugarcane

Jogesh practices organic farming and has been following chemical-free methods for the past 8 to 10 years. His farm is certified organic. Out of his 4.5 acres, around 2.5 acres are under sugarcane cultivation, while the rest is used for wheat and other crops.

He grows the Coh 191 sugarcane variety, which is high-yielding and fast-growing. It was developed by Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (HAU) and is known for high sugar content.

“I use inputs like jeevamrit, ghanjeevamrit, and decomposer, maintaining soil fertility without chemical fertilisers or pesticides. In the initial years, I faced losses due to red rot disease in sugarcane, but improved crop management and experience helped stabilise production,” the agripreneur says.

Intercropping is a key part of his system. Sugarcane is grown alongside wheat and legumes, like chana. From one acre, Malik harvests about 200 quintals of sugarcane and around 12 quintals of wheat, allowing him to generate income from the same land while improving soil health.

Another advantage of sugarcane, he notes, is harvesting flexibility. The crop can be left standing in the field for six to seven months, allowing harvests to be planned based on processing and market demand rather than a fixed schedule.

“Farmers do not need to compete on volume alone. By creating consumer-ready products, even small farmers can build sustainable agribusinesses,” he says.

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

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