Scientist turns moringa farmer; exports products to the US, Europe

After working for seven years as a soil scientist at the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU), Dr Saravanan Kandasami decided to take up organic farming. Coming from an agrarian family, it was not tough for him to switch from research to agriculture.

“Agriculture is my family occupation. Though I was working as a soil scientist at TNAU, I was never away from my roots,” says Dr Kandasami, a PhD in soil science and agriculture chemistry with over two decades of experience as a soil scientist. 

Why moringa leaves farming is profitable

His family was cultivating moringa oleifera (which yields drumsticks) and coconut on their farm in Somankottai village, Dharapuram Taluk of Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur district. “I resigned in 2017 and started working on the farm. At that time, moringa was being cultivated for harvesting drumsticks,” he says.

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Drumsticks are the long, slender pods of the moringa tree and resemble the drumsticks used in percussion instruments. Moringa is a small, fast-growing, evergreen tree in tropical regions. Its leaves and drumsticks are valued for their nutritional content and medicinal properties. Moringa leaves and powder are considered a superfood because of their health benefits.

“I realised that the excessive supply of drumsticks resulted in low market rates. However, the leaves are in much higher demand, especially in the international market. So I decided to switch to moringa leaves farming,” says Dr Kandasami.

The global moringa market was valued at 9.5 billion dollars in 2022, as per Zion Market Research. India dominates the market and meets more than 80 percent of the global demand as the climatic conditions here are favourable for its growth. 

Moringa leaves need to be dried immediately upon harvesting and the cost of transporting loose dried leaves is high. So overseas buyers depend on India to meet their moringa powder demands, creating a huge opportunity for farmers here. 

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“So while my family was cultivating moringa over one acre, I extended it to three acres,” says Dr Kandasami, who procured seeds from a horticulture college and sowed them on the farm.

“I keep a plant-to-plant gap of six feet. I have 2,000 plants per acre. Moringa continues to give yield for five years,” he says.

Since he harvests leaves instead of drumsticks, he doesn’t allow flowering. After plantation, when the seedlings are about 70 cm in height, they must be pinched off to facilitate denser branching. “I cut leaves every two months,” he says.

For healthy plants through organic farming, he adds leaf manure and powdered groundnut cake to the plants. He has installed drip irrigation on the farm to ensure that water reaches the roots of the plants without any wastage.

The business of moringa 

Moringa powder is made by harvesting, drying and then milling the leaves. The powder is rich in nutrients and antioxidants. Organic moringa leaf powder is used as a dietary supplement and sells upwards of Rs700 to Rs800 per kg.

“I prepare and sell moringa powder apart from value-added products like moringa-dal mix (podi) and moringa leaf soup in the local markets and overseas. I export to the USA and Europe,” he points out.

Podis are powdered condiments made with lentils, seeds and spices.

Dr Kandasami uses a new technique developed by him called bundle mulching to maximize production. Mulching means adding a layer of dry leaves or plastic to the surface of the soil around the plant to conserve moisture and suppress weed growth.

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In Dr Kandasami’s bundle mulching method, crop residues are stacked along the crop rows, resembling bundles. 

“This bundle mulching takes care of crop's health, increases production, checks weed growth in the intra-row space, and increases organic carbon,” he says.

Organic carbon is the carbon component of organic compounds, which improves soil oxygen, water drainage and retention, and reduces the risk of nutrient leaching.

“Bundle mulching also protects the plants from heavy winds and rains. For this, you need to allocate some area for fodder grasses to prepare the mulching material. It saves weeding costs and helps in disease management. This mulching lasts for one year,” he explains.

Dr Kandasami practices no-tillage agriculture as it does not disturb the soil. No-till farming also decreases the amount of soil erosion caused due to tillage. “No tractor is needed in this type of organic farming. Tractor ploughing leads to weed growth,” he says.

The agripreneur also cultivates coconut over three acres and papaya over two acres. By following the same methods, he can keep diseases in check and costs low in these two crops as well.

(US Anu is a Madurai-based writer. She specialises in stories around human interest, environment and art and culture.)

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