Business1 min read

Returned from Greece, Punjab man builds Rs 2 crore sugarcane business

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Hargurjit Singh Minhas departed from conventional regional practices by adopting trench planting, nursery-raised seedlings, and seasonal intercropping with mustard, peas, and grams. This method drastically reduces seed cane needs to just 1.5 quintals per acre while generating an extra Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per acre in supplemental revenue. Beyond his own fields, he leveraged a Rs 36 lakh government subsidy to invest Rs 2 crore into mechanized harvesting machinery. His commercial contracting venture cuts and transports up to 1,000 quintals of sugarcane daily for neighboring farmers, significantly expanding his enterprise's overall revenue.

Key points

  • Sugarcane intercropping yields net returns of Rs 76,000 per acre on owned land, outperfor…: Sugarcane intercropping yields net returns of Rs 76,000 per acre on owned land, outperforming traditional regional wheat-paddy rotations.
  • Commercial harvesting and transport services create strong secondary revenue by harvestin…: Commercial harvesting and transport services create strong secondary revenue by harvesting approximately 45,000 quintals for neighboring farmers in a season.
  • Adopting resource-efficient cultivation methods conserves vital water supplies while sign…: Adopting resource-efficient cultivation methods conserves vital water supplies while significantly lowering input costs for local agricultural producers.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Hargurjit Singh Minhas worked for eight years in Greece. But then something hit him and the 36-year-old decided to return to his own country, his own village in Punjab. The man came back to explore the possibilities of farming on his family's land. Today, the farmer from Daroli Kalan village in Jalandhar has built a sugarcane-based agricultural enterprise spread across 60 acres, generating an annual revenue of over Rs 2 crore and net earnings of Rs 60-65 lakh.

As per a report by The Indian Express, his approach combines sugarcane cultivation, multiple intercrops and mechanised harvesting services to create different sources of income from agriculture.

From Greece to back to PunjabMinhas completed Class XII and spent eight years working there. His experience included exposure to agricultural practices, which eventually influenced his decision to return to Punjab and take up farming.

He had agricultural land in his village and looked at an opportunity to build something of his own. He returned to Punjab around five years ago and also completed a one-year Diploma in Agriculture Extension Services for Input Dealers (DAESI).

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