Odisha farmer turns barren land into fruit orchard; exports mangoes to UAE

For years, nearly 10 acres of land owned by Kailash Pradhan in Bad Shair village under Jujumura block of Odisha’s Sambalpur district lay unused. With just wild shrubs and no assured water source, the land served as a grazing ground for cattle. Farming on this stretch appeared economically unviable.

Today, the same land supports a thriving fruit orchard of mango, Indian jujube (apple ber), guava and marigold, generating an annual turnover of Rs 18 lakh. 

“This turnaround shows that even barren land can be made productive with the right inputs and strategy. As older trees yield more fruits, I expect the income to go up to Rs40 lakh in three years,” Kailash tells 30Stades.

Earlier, Kailash cultivated Swarna and Lalata paddy varieties on 2.5 acres and vegetables on another acre, earning less than Rs 3 lakh annually. The turning point came in 2021, when he decided to experiment with horticulture under the Union government’s Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), following guidance from the district horticulture department.

Under the programme, he received mango saplings of multiple varieties, including Amrapali, Langra, Baiganpalli and Dasheri. He also underwent technical training in orchard management and was sent on a three-day exposure visit to Sahyadri Farms in Nashik, former assistant horticulture officer of Jujumura block Tanmayee Shasani says.

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Addressing water scarcity

Water scarcity on the land was a major hurdle. The water resources department assisted Kailash in digging a borewell and establishing a drip irrigation system in phases. The total cost was over Rs 1 lakh, of which 70 percent was covered through government subsidy.

“I began by ploughing the land three times to loosen the soil and level the surface. For plantation, I dug pits measuring three feet in diameter and two feet in depth, filling them with dried cow dung purchased at Rs 800 per trolley load,” Kailash says.

He planted mango saplings with a spacing of 16 feet between plants and rows, as recommended by horticulture experts.

“By 2023, the mango plants had matured enough to bear fruit. To prevent pest attacks, I used an organic spray made from neem cake mixed with water, applying it systematically across all 1,000 trees,” he says.

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Today, each mango tree, averaging seven feet in height, yields around 25 kg of fruit during the March-June season. Mangoes are sold at Rs50 to Rs60 per kg in retail markets and at lower rates to traders.

Mango remains the orchard’s most lucrative crop. In 2025, Kailash exported 10 quintals of Amrapali mangoes to the UAE. 

He was among 20 farmers from Sambalpur district to participate in exports facilitated by farmer-producer companies, ORMAS and technical partners such as Palladium. “Export consignments fetched 40 to 60 per cent higher prices than domestic markets,” Kailash says.

Expanding to other crops

Encouraged by the success of mango cultivation, Kailash diversified further. He introduced apple ber, Kashmir apple ber and red apple ber, along with Thai Pink and Thai Red guava varieties, as intercrops. 

He purchased apple ber saplings from Kolkata at Rs 80 each and guava saplings at prices ranging from Rs 35 to Rs 130 per plant. The orchard now employs eight to ten labourers, each paid Rs 350 per day.

Each apple ber plant yields 40 to 45 kg of fruit annually, harvested between December and March, while guava plants produce 20 to 25 kg per season across three harvest cycles.

Kailash sells ber at Rs 40 to Rs 50 per kg and guava at Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg, though weather-related losses remain a challenge.

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“Starting in 2023, I planted 5,000 marigold saplings sourced free of cost from the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow. Marigold farming added another income stream,” he says.

The flowers mature in 45 days and are grown in three phases annually. Marigolds alone generate Rs 1.5 lakh per year, with higher earnings during festivals.

From barren land to export-grade produce, Kailash’s journey highlights how strategic crop selection, institutional support, irrigation planning and diversification can transform unproductive land into a sustainable and profitable farming enterprise.

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

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