MBA farmer replaces family’s rubber plantation with rambutan; old trees yield 100 kg per season

After completing his MBA in Marketing and Finance from the SCMS Cochin School of Business in 2010, Shino Matthew got a placement with the Axis Bank in Thiruvalla, about 55 km from his hometown of Thodapuzha. He worked in the bank for three years and then resigned to head back home.

“At that time, my father was not keeping well. I wanted to be around him. So I quit my job and returned home,” Shino tells 30Stades.

He began teaching in the MBA department of a college.

“My family was cultivating rubber for around 70 years, but farming was not at the top of my mind. My father’s illness, however, forced me into agriculture,” he says.

When Shino’s family started rubber farming in the 1960s, the demand was booming, the labour supply was good, and the cultivation was profitable. “Almost everyone in Kerala was growing rubber. However, as people began migrating to the Gulf and European countries for education and work, the cost of farm labour began to rise. The returns from an acre of rubber plantation are only around Rs50,000 now,” says Shino.

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The shift from rubber to rambutan

Sometime in 2015, he tasted rambutan and found it extremely sweet and flavourful. “So, in 2015, I thought of experimenting with rambutan in less than an acre (0.75 acres) before completely removing rubber. Very few people were growing this exotic fruit back then,” he says.

The saplings were available in nearby nurseries. “At that time, I did not know much about the plant-to-plant distance. I planted around 50 saplings in 0.75 acres. After four to five years, I cut down some trees to allow for good growth,” he says.

It is good to keep a plant-to-plant gap of 40 ft by 40 ft because when the trees grow and their branches come close, the yield declines.

“This wide spacing helps to maintain tree health by reducing competition for water and sunlight, and allowing branches to develop their natural spherical shape for healthy canopy development,” Shino says.

While Shino and his father did not sell fruits in the first three years, people came to the farm for purchases in 2018-19. “At that time, we were getting the rate of around Rs 100 per kg. After Covid-19, the demand for rambutan increased and prices went up,” he says. 

“The trees, which I planted in 2015, now yield up to 100 kg of rambutan every season (June to September/October), provided the climatic conditions remain good,” he says. At Rs 130 to Rs 140 per kg, each old tree can give around Rs 13,000 annually.

Shino now grows rambutan over four acres. 

“In one acre, you can plant 40 plants at a gap of 40 ft by 40 ft or around 80 plants if you choose a gap of 20 ft by 20 ft. The saplings cost Rs250 to Rs1000 depending on size and age,” he says.

Farmers can opt for intercropping with banana or other crops in the first three years when the plants are young and not in the fruit-yielding stage. This can increase income per acre. The intercropping can be removed from the fourth year when the trees start yielding rambutan, he adds.

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He covers the fruiting trees with old fishing nets to protect rambutans from bats and birds.

Yields and revenues

Typically, four-year-old plants yield 35 to 50 kg per season. At an average of Rs 130 per kg, each plant will give an income of at least Rs 5,000 a year. This will grow to Rs 13,000 per plant by the tenth year if the orchard is maintained well and climatic conditions are favourable.

Even if old trees yield 80 kg annually and get a market rate of Rs 130 per kg, the income from an acre with 80 plants will be over Rs 8 lakh annually.

“A well-maintained orchard can yield 4 tonnes (4,000 kg) per acre,” says Shino, who employs two workers on the farm. 

Shino has planted the N18 variety, which gives large, sweet, and juicy fruits. Its high yield, adaptability, disease resistance, and pulp rich in antioxidants make it a good choice for farmers. “The N18 rambutan variety was developed from Malaysian origins and is ideal for cultivation in tropical climates like Kerala,” Shino adds. 

For exotic fruit farming, he uses organic manure, including cow dung, chicken waste manure and compost. “Rambutan is a low-maintenance plant because it is hardy, disease-resistant, and requires pruning just once a year. It thrives well with organic manure and minimal pesticides, if necessary. You don’t need to apply strong chemicals,” he says. 

The N18 variety of rambutan has a potential lifespan of over 100 years, and good yields start between the sixth and eighth years. “It is a more profitable farming than rubber, where you can earn only about Rs 50,000 per acre,” he says.

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

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