Yearly, tonnes of unique fruits together with blueberries and raspberries are imported for city Indian customers owing to their big selection of well being advantages. Information exhibits that raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and cranberry imports into India skyrocketed to 870 tonnes in 2022 – indicating a surge of 148 % in comparison with 2021.

In response to the US Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC), the imports of blueberries in recent and dried varieties grew from nearly zero in 2009 to 1,900 tonnes in 2020, making India one of many world’s high importers of blueberries. This commerce between the US and India is rising at a charge of round 30 % per 12 months.

Whereas these numbers are rising yearly, Maharashtra’s Keya Salot has stepped as much as carry these numbers all the way down to some extent. “In 2021-22, India was importing $2.2 billion of unique fruits and greens. That’s probably not a very good quantity. I wished to get into the sector to domesticate these unique varieties regionally. By doing this, it could additionally make them inexpensive for customers past metros,” she tells The Higher India.

In 2021, Keya arrange Farm2Fam to domesticate these unique berries. In the present day, she has scaled up the manufacturing on 20 acres of land and estimates a manufacturing of no less than 135 tonnes of berries this 12 months.

In dialog with The Higher India, she sheds gentle on the progressive strategies that helped her domesticate berries within the harsh climate circumstances of the nation.

Stop legislation to turn out to be a farmer

Born and introduced up in Mumbai, Keya was a lawyer by occupation. After pursuing legislation from Mumbai’s Authorities Regulation School, she continued her observe with legislation corporations for almost 4 years till she understood her calling.

“I had all the time wished to turn out to be a farmer. For me, the thought of pursuing legislation was all the time to later concentrate on entrepreneurship. However earlier than that, I wished to get good entry to the authorized framework to construct a profitable enterprise. I wished to work in an impactful sector to create a really purpose-driven entrepreneurship programme which might not solely profit me personally however would additionally profit the society,” says the 32-year-old.

In 2018, she took a break from work to grasp the nitty-gritties of farming as she didn’t have any agricultural background. To start with, Keya began rising about 30 forms of microgreens in a vertical set-up made on the terrace. Quickly, she began supplying them to eating places, and inside six months, she on-boarded 50 purchasers. This boosted her confidence and allowed her to ascertain retail connections.

“Throughout this transition, I began researching on the sorts of crops grown in different international locations that had gained numerous traction in agriculture. In comparison with international locations in South and Central America, India has not graduated past rising main fundamental crops like paddy, sugarcane, and wheat,” she shares.

“Even at this time, regardless of a good portion of the economic system and the inhabitants being depending on agriculture, we aren’t in a position to produce high-value crops. We wanted to decide on crops that can get a barely longer cycle however will give definitive returns,” she provides.

After a 12 months of analysis, Keya zeroed all the way down to cultivating the crop of blueberries and raspberries – cultivated largely in the US, Russia, Mexico, Serbia, and Poland.

Making international crops adaptable with progressive strategies

Keya shares the most important problem in cultivating these unique varieties was to make them adaptable to the Indian climate circumstances. “Whereas blueberries require chilly winters and average to excessive rainfall all through its rising season, raspberries are additionally suited to temperate areas with cool summers and gentle winters,” she provides.

By late 2019, Keya alongside along with her husband, Vimal Salot, visited Mexico and Europe which had comparable geometric circumstances to Maharashtra. In 2020, she imported the primary set of saplings adaptable to Indian climate circumstances and harvested the primary business yield in 2021.

As a way to domesticate them within the tropical local weather of Maharashtra, Keya opted for the tunnel methodology of cultivation that overcame the drawbacks of maximum climate circumstances.

“We’re required to guard crops like raspberries and blueberries from excessive temperatures. At the moment, India solely has poly homes as an infrastructure for protected cultivation, and in geographical climates like Maharashtra, we want safety from harsh circumstances slightly than including warmth,” she shares.

“So, we developed our personal low-cost tunnel constructions for rising these berries the place we will add or take away the plastic cowl as per the climate necessities and preserve supreme temperature circumstances for the expansion of vegetation. With this, we will now present a hotter local weather throughout the winter nights and cooler circumstances for development throughout the summer season days, along with defending the crops from rain. This method has its origin within the European international locations the place they use the construction to guard the warmth,” she provides.

Keya put in low-cost tunnels in about 80 % of her farm and is cultivating no less than seven forms of unique berries. “Rising blueberries underneath excessive tunnels protects them from extremes of temperature, requires much less water, and yields extra fruit. This methodology additionally helps blueberries ripen earlier. As a substitute of the same old harvest interval that lasts just for a number of weeks, we will harvest yields for 4 to 5 months with this methodology,” she informs.

Highlighting one of many different challenges she confronted in organising the farm enterprise in Talegaon, Pune, Keya says, “Gaining access to land was extraordinarily tough for us because it was very tough to persuade a farmer to lease their land to a metropolis dweller. As you should not have a base in a village, it invitations numerous aversion. However after 3 to 4 months of attempting our palms, we obtained our first piece of land. It took a while to construct belief among the many farmers.”

In the present day, she has expanded the manufacturing on 20 acres of land and expects a bountiful harvest of no less than 135 tonnes of berries this season. As of now, she has collaborated with supply companions like Swiggy and Zepto, and supermarkets like Star Bazaar, KisanKonnect, Reliance Retail, and Nature’s Basket to ship the produce.

Speaking about her transition from being a lawyer to an progressive farmer, Keya says, “It’s a notion that agriculture shouldn’t be a worthwhile enterprise. On the similar time, an enormous portion of our economic system rests on it. It’s the duty of individuals with publicity to alter this notion slightly than worry it.”

“I really feel if I had solely practiced legislation, the form of impression that I’d have had would have been a lot smaller than what I’m having at this time when it comes to cultivating new sorts of crops through the use of progressive strategies,” she provides.

Edited by Padmashree Pande; All pictures: Keya Salot.