How this MBA farmer earns Rs6 lakh monthly revenue from basil farming

When Alok Pattnaik was a marketing executive for Tata Automotive in Odisha, he longed to return to his roots. While earning well for himself and his family, he wanted to work in his tribal-dominated native village Rabana Palashpal in Keonjhar, Odisha. In 2018, he quit his job.

After much research on the internet, he zeroed in on banana farming and began the cultivation of green bananas of the G-9 variety, called Singapuri, over 2.5 acres in 2021. But it resulted in a loss of over Rs 4 lakh in two years.  

However, it did not deter him. He recollected his visit to the Krishi Mela in Lucknow and that led Alok to basil farming. “At the Krishi Mela, organized by Lucknow-based Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), I learnt about the farming of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP). That led me to foray into basil farming,” says Alok who completed his MBA from Sambalpur University in Western Odisha in 2002.

The global basil essential oil market was valued at 88.9 million dollars in 2022 and is expected to reach 159.5 million dollars by the end of 2032, as per Transparency Market Research. 

About 70 percent of the demand for basil essential oil in South Asia comes from India, making the medicinal plants extremely profitable. Moreover, basil thrives well without chemical inputs, reducing costs for farmers.

From marketing to agri-entrepreneurship

After his MBA, Alok joined Bajaj Auto as a marketing executive in 2003 and moved on to Tata Automotive in 2009, his last job before becoming an agriculture entrepreneur.

Today, Alok cultivates five varieties of basil (tulsi) on ten acres of land, popularly known as Tulsi Kshetra. 

For this, Alok underwent a three-day training at CIMAP in 2023. The institute provided him with a sample of 25 seedlings of the Soumya basil variety, which he planted on a patch of his half-acre land. “In a few months the number of basil plants shot up to around 10,000 through natural vegetative propagation,” he says.

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Enthused by the results, Alok procured 100 acres of ‘gochar’ or grazing land on lease to expand basil farming. The land belongs to tribals of the Kondh, Munda and Juanga communities, who benefit from the rent and are also employed on the farm. Out of 100 acres, he currently cultivates tulsi on 10.5 acres. 

“I prepared this land for basil farming by ploughing it and adding cow dung mixed with goat droppings and chicken manure. I also added vermicompost to improve fertility,” the rural entrepreneur says. 

“I continue applying these organic inputs on the advice of Dr Prashant Kumar Rout, the senior principal scientist of CIMAP,” he says.

Alok has over 70, 000 plants of Soumya, Shishir, Suvaas, Jyoti and Angana varieties. He procured their seedlings from CIMAP. “I cut plants every 60 days during summer, as they have more oil content at that time. Tulsi grows rapidly during rains, but the water content is higher. I cut them every three months during winter as the growth is sluggish during that season,” he adds.  

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Basil essential oil and beads

Alok extracts tulsi oil from the plants as it fetches the maximum returns. “I have set up a distillation unit with a monthly capacity of 650 litres at an investment of Rs 12 lakh. I used my savings, and help from my late father, sisters and friends for the entire investment,” says Alok. 

One quintal (100 kg) of tulsi yields one litre of essential oil, which sells at Rs3,000 per litre and can go up to Rs5,000 per litre depending on demand. 

Basils are dried for 24 hours before being processed.  He extracts seven to eight litres of oil daily at his distillation unit, resulting in a turnover of around Rs21,000 per day or over Rs 6 lakh per month.

His current buyers are herbal and medicinal companies including Puri-based ‘Shree Herbal’ and Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Medicine. Aloks is also in talks with Dabur India Ltd to supply 50,000 litres of oil annually. He also sells basil essential oil in bottles of 10 ml to retail customers. Each bottle is priced at Rs 50 for retail buyers.

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Alok says he has invested nearly Rs 4 lakh on developing another 20 acres to expand basil farming as it not only creates employment but also maximizes land utilization. “I will cover the entire 100 acres in phases,” he adds. 

“Tulsi oil acts as an immunity booster and a stress-buster. It is beneficial in the common cold and is used in cough syrups and herbal teas. It has innumerable uses in the healthcare sector, making it an essential raw material for pharmaceutical companies,” says Dr Prashant of CIMAP. 

Alok has also purchased a small machine designed by IIT, Delhi, to make tulsi or basil beads. It cost him Rs22,000. 

The mush or pulp that remains after oil extraction is used to make small beads for the mala worn around the neck. 

Alok’s facility also produces big beads for the mala used during meditation. While a mala with big beads costs Rs 500, the one with small beads costs Rs 200. He has employed two tribal girls to make these beads. Some of them were procured by Bhubaneswar-based Ram Mandir at Rs 500 per piece.  

“The management of Ram Mandir has placed an order to supply 500 pieces of mala every month. Besides, people associated with ISKON and the Gayathri Association have evinced interest in my products,” he says. 

“After the business in oil goes up, I plan to make by-products like agarbatti, room spray, soap and vapourizers,” he adds.

(Niroj Ranjan Misra a Cuttack-based freelance writer. He writes on rural and tribal life, social issues, art and culture, and sports)

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