“Who says that farming can’t be profitable? People generally have a notion that it’s small and not viable. Nothing could be farther from the truth,” says Smarika Chandrakar.

The MBA graduate from Chhattisgarh has proved this statement right by transforming her family farm in Charmudiya village into a profitable venture.

Smarika worked in Pune before moving to Raipur to be closer to her family. She spent weekends at the farm, learning the finer nuances of paddy agriculture.

She soon realised that vegetable farming would be more profitable than paddy, and started experimenting with the idea on their 20 acres of land.

The results were astonishing, leading to two outcomes — a switch to vegetable farming and Smarika quitting her job to become a full-time farmer.

“Vegetable farming offers a triple win — higher income for farmers and traders, enhanced consumer health and a rejuvenated economy. In other words, when vegetables rise, people thrive,” Dilip Rajan, chief operating officer at East-West Seed Global, told The Economic Times.

Smarika first worked on preparing the land for vegetable cultivation. The first crop she grew was tomato, seeking help from an agricultural consultant to make the transition smooth.

She initially focused on improving soil health by adding cow dung and vermicompost, and then she installed a drip irrigation system.

The next step was to prepare a raised bed for tomatoes and mulches (a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil to conserve soil moisture and improve fertility).

Soon, the farm was ready, and in 2021, the Chandrakar family prepared for their first tomato harvest.

“We received a great harvest of almost 50 tonnes per acre in the first year. We sold it in local mandis (markets) and in other cities like Visakhapatnam, Patna, Kolkata, New Delhi, Bengaluru and more. I have tied up with brokers with whom I pre-decide the rates,” Samarika says.

Besides tomatoes, she also grows bottle gourd, cucumber and brinjal. The sowing and harvesting season is between May and March, with the cycle roughly around three months.

“While we would only be able to harvest paddy twice a year; we can harvest vegetables many more times. It’s also much more profitable,” Smarika says.

“Last year, we received a harvest of 55 tonnes per acre for tomatoes. With this, our turnover was over Rs 1.5 crore in FY 23-24,” she adds.

Today, Smarika runs the farm along with her brother and father, employing over 125 people.

“Currently, we are doing many things manually like fertigation. I want to add more technology to improve productivity,” she adds.