Sun-dried vegetables and Shatavari

Dear Reader,

When my husband visited his village during winter vacations as a child, he would see cauliflower, brinjal, fenugreek, and other seasonal vegetables being sun-dried in the courtyard. It was common to dry the veggies when the farms produced a surplus.

It prevented wastage and made winter vegetables available during summer and rainy seasons. (Yes! Back then, there were no polyhouses and vegetables were seasonal!) These dried veggies were soaked in water before cooking and tasted awesome.

The problem of surplus farm produce exists even today. Farmers face the added issue of not getting fair rates when there is a glut in the market. Not surprisingly, solar drying is moving from courtyards to factories because of the huge market potential for dried veggies, fruits and meats.

That’s the business Josemon Jacob decided to start when he was 17 and COVID-19 hit the world. He saw farmers in his village struggling with fresh farm produce they could not sell. By 18, he applied for a loan to set up a small agri-drying unit at his village in Kottayam, Kerala.

Josemon told my colleague Chandhini that his unit now dries over 1,000 tonnes of vegetables annually, helping farmers cut losses. He clocked Rs25 lakh in revenue last year and has recently started selling his own dehydrated vegetables and spices.

Josemon’s success at just 23 is another proof of what we already know -- most successful startups identify a market gap and plug it with a product or service. You can read his story here.

Last week, I spoke to Nimesh Verma, a farmer from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. After his graduation, Nimesh wanted to diversify his family’s farming from wheat, rice and vegetables to crops that fetched high market rates.

He met an old farmer cultivating shatavari (Asparagus racemosus), a medicinal herb, and learnt about its planting, harvesting and processing. Nimesh researched and understood the market before planting shatavari over an acre. 

Today, he earns Rs12 lakh per acre by selling dried shatavari roots to some of India’s leading pharma companies and also exports them to Japan and Spain. His profit: Rs 10.5 lakh per acre!

My colleagues Aruna and Chandhini put together a piece on seven agripreneurs who have built successful enterprises on the farm-to-fork model, eliminating middlemen between farmers and consumers. It helps farmers receive fair prices and provides fresh produce to consumers.

These agripreneurs are engineers, MBAs and even scientists, clocking annual turnover in crores.

Our Sunday feature is on a hidden gem – Assam's Chandubi Lake, carved by nature’s fury. The place was once a hilly region with five mountains and forests. On June 12, 1897, a massive earthquake struck Assam, causing the hills to sink into the ground, creating the lake. Chandubi remains off the mainstream tourist map, which enhances its untouched charm.

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi

How this 23-year-old built a successful agri-drying business; clocks Rs25 lakh turnover

This farmer earns Rs 12 lakh per acre with Shatavari farming; exports to Spain, Japan

Seven agripreneurs connecting farmers with consumers

Assam’s hidden gem: Chandubi Lake carved by nature’s fury