Engineer-Farmer Couple and Exotic Fruits

Dear Reader,

When you are stuck in a situation where resources are limited and the current path isn’t yielding good results, the only way out is innovation. Innovation can turn challenges into opportunities, whether in a career, a business, or a farm.

Three of our stories this week are an ode to entrepreneurial innovation, where individuals applied new ideas to boost returns beyond traditional agriculture. I will begin with Philip Kurien T, who completed his master's in financial management and managed global supply chains for a logistics firm in Dubai for nine years.

He then returned home to Kerala, wanting to be with his family and familiar surroundings. At that time, his family grew rubber, earning a profit of only Rs50,000 per acre, he told my colleague Anu. What inspired him to move away from rubber were some mangosteen trees, planted by his great-grandfather 90 years ago.

Philip cut rubber plants and replaced them with 150 mangosteen trees and 25 rambutan trees in 2011. Today, the exotic fruits generate an annual income of Rs 10,000 per tree, and Philip is a role model for farmers, promoting organic farming practices.

I spoke to Rashmi and Ankur Sachan last week. The engineer couple was working in Bengaluru when Covid-19 hit, and with two small kids, they returned home to Kanpur in 2021.

The duo converted their ancestral land, about 5.5 acres, into a green oasis. They planted timber trees, such as teak, mahogany, and kadamb, along the boundaries, and fruit trees within the farm. They decided to follow intercropping, growing seasonal crops between fruit and timber trees.

While Sachin continues to work from home for an IT firm and oversees farming, Rashmi processes raw crops and has built a farm-to-fork brand. They sell turmeric, flour, oils and fresh produce to customers in IIT Kanpur and residential societies.

Can you guess the prices of their organic products? The turmeric powder retails for Rs 600 per kg, and wheat flour at Rs 60 per kg. Tuhi Farms is a hit in Kanpur, demonstrating the importance of thinking outside the box.

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My colleague Riya spoke to Ganesh Kadam, a grape farmer who did not want to be a farmer. When Ganesh graduated in hotel management in 2004, he wanted to start a hospitality business. However, his father made it clear that it would mean selling farmland in Nashik, and the family was unwilling to do it.

So he invested his education and entrepreneurial mindset into farming. He began cultivating grapes, exporting about two-thirds of the production.

The 2019 drought, followed by COVID-19, led Ganesh to choose value addition over distress sales. He began solar drying of grapes, ginger, tomatoes, mint and coriander in 2022. Today, his agri-enterprise generates an annual turnover of Rs 75 lakh. He also provides free training in solar dehydration, helping micro entrepreneurs in rural Maharashtra.

As we close this year, I am thankful to each of you for reading us and sharing your feedback. Team 30Stades wishes you and your loved ones a year of happiness and good health.

May the lessons of the past illuminate our path in 2026!

Warmly,

Rashmi

Kerala man quits top job in Dubai to grow mangosteen and rambutan; earns Rs 10,000 per tree annually

Bengaluru engineer couple starts organic farming in Kanpur; builds farm-to-fork brand

Nashik grape farmer starts solar dehydration unit; total turnover hits Rs 75 lakh