Meet Punjab Man Who Earns ₹15 Lakh Per Acre From Dragon Fruit Farming

When we lose our way on a trip, most of us get anxious. We turn around, desperately look at maps, and ask local people for directions. 

When Amandeep Singh got lost on a road trip with friends, he did the same. 

But before all of that, he saw something that was about to change his life back in Punjab forever.

In an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia, Amandeep said, "I had just finished my graduation. My friends and I decided to treat ourselves to a scenic road trip. We zeroed down on Gujarat."

During their trip, Amandeep Singh's friend misunderstood the directions and took a wrong turn. 

While trying to go back, they came across a vast land of plants that they didn't really recognize. Curious, they got out of the car, navigated through the field, and finally came across a farmer. 

The farmer informed Amandeep Singh that those plantations were dragonfruit crops - and they had a huge demand from the urban side of the country. He also said that the profit margins in this business were generous, and the fruit would sell at upwards of Rs 200 per kilogram. 

Amandeep was thrilled to see this new fruit. He instantly decided to start growing it in his farmland in Punjab.

INITIAL CHALLENGES 

Amandeep Singh's family farm is already one of the biggest producers of Chandan in Northern India. 

Convincing his family to let him get into dragonfruit farming wasn't very difficult. 

Amandeep Singh mentions, "My family has always been supportive. We are people who know what good can come out of farming and agriculture. My parents could've never said no. Plus I had already finished my degree in BA Arts from Chandigarh. This was the time to do something in the real world and experiment."

In 2018, Amandeep launched Sarao Exim Farm as his agri-startup.

Initially, Amandeep invested around Rs 4 lakh per acre on his farm. He got the soil ready for the dragon fruit plantation. 

Talking about the first few days, he says, "The beginning was more about research and understanding how to grow the exotic fruit. I visited farmers in Gujarat and neighbouring states who were already doing it and tried to learn it. They would tell me ways to go about it. I also sourced the plants from them. I finally came back to Punjab and started implementing everything that I had learned."

But a bumpy road lay ahead of Amandeep.

His first harvest failed. And the second. And the third. And the fourth. 

For four years, Amandeep and his farming plans didn't bore fruits. 

Lots of reasons came into play. 

From the sapling's inability to adapt to the weather to Amandeep not being able to understand the exact composition of soil needed for the dragonfruits - problems came up one by one.

He had, for example, over fertilized the soil. Later, he realized that his farm's soil was already quite fertile and didn't need as many pesticides and fertilizers. 

"Nothing seemed to be working for me. I was a little disappointed but didn't want to give up at all. This was something that I wanted to be good at. I knew I would do it," he adds. 

Eventually, the young entrepreneur took the decision to switch to 100% organic farming. This was on the advice of the Gujarat farmers with whom he had developed a friendship.

He got rid of the chemical fertilizers and other pesticides and brought in neem and natural fertilizers instead. 

And the tables turned! 

In another eighteen months, the dragonfruit plants began blossoming.

GROWTH & SUCCESS

Eventually, Sarao Exim Farm became a leading producer of dragon fruits in Punjab. 

As time went by, Amandeep started introducing more varieties of the fruit and now grows more than 12 types of the exotic fruit. These include Valdivia Rosa, Asunta, American Beauty, and Purple Haze.

In the interview, Amandeep Singh mentioned about the sourcing part of the process, "In the beginning, sourcing was very difficult. It would take a lot of time and sometimes the quality would also get compromised in the transport process. Later, I started importing the dragonfruit plants. The chain became so much more smoother than before and the quality wouldn't deteriorate either."

THE NUMBERS 

Sarao Exim Farm employs a team of 10 to 12 people which includes the contractual farmers as well.

The agri-startup's main source of revenue is selling the dragonfruits to wholesalers in the country, who then sell them to retailers.

According to Amandeep Singh, he currently makes about Rs 15 lakhs in revenue per acre of dragonfruit farming. 

When asked about the harvesting period and process, Amandeep says, "If you do it correctly, dragonfruits take one year to come to fruition. And by the second year, they're ready for commercial use."

Today, Amandeep Singh also trains hundreds of farmers who want to start dragonfruit farming. "I have no secrets and want more and more farmers who double their income by switching to dragonfruit farming instead of just growing wheat and paddy in Punjab. There's a lot of potential in this exotic fruit."

LOOKING AHEAD

In the near future, Amandeep Singh and his team at Sarao Exim Farm are looking to grow a new type of dragonfruit called Yellow White Dragonfruit. 

They're also starting their own Farmer Producer Organization to have more control over production and prices and ultimately help farmers.

"In my type of job, especially dragonfruit farming, we work less and earn more. It's a literal dream come true," Amandeep laughs and signs off.