India's marginalised farmers, who make up the backbone of the nation's food system, have long been trapped in a cycle of low returns despite working some of the most fertile and ecologically diverse land on earth. The problem is not one of capacity or effort but one of knowledge, access and imagination. This article explores ten practical, proven strategies that can fundamentally rethink rural livelihoods and unlock the true income potential of the Indian farm.
1. Increase the Value of the Crops
The simplest solutions have the widest impact. Foodgrains (cereals and pulses) account for roughly 85–90% of total grain production in India and two-thirds of the total cropped area in the country. More importantly, close to 90–95% of our marginalised farmers grow one or many of these crops; therefore, an increase in the sale price of these crops will generate ripples of profitability across the entire value chain.
GI Tag: Punjab and Haryana together account for roughly 40–50% of India’s central procurement of wheat and about 25–30% of paddy. This advantage is coupled with a GI tag for Basmati rice, which accounts for over 30% of all rice exports from India and a remarkable 50% by value. India has GI tags for over 200 agricultural products, but this leaves many undiscovered. I am certain we could find over 200 qualifying products from every large state; exotic spices, aromatics, ancient grains and rare fruits. India has much to offer, to rediscover and to share with the world.
Organic Growing: We know from personal experience that growing organically can be cheaper, easier and capable of delivering higher yields. This runs contrary to every prevailing belief, but a century of science has taught us how to work with plants, microorganisms, nature and the environment to build a structured, self-sustaining support system. Given this understanding and coupled with a modest premium for organic produce (which is healthier and more nutritionally dense than conventionally grown alternatives) organic farming should be the undisputed path forward for farmers.
Timing: All farmers are taught by their peers and elders the precise time to grow every crop. It is one of the most sacred pieces of knowledge passed down through generations. Yet a few progressive farmers think independently and sow their fields a month early. They get their harvest to the mandi ahead of the crowd and enjoy higher prices due to scarcity. By the time the rest of the village brings their produce to market, the price has already collapsed. One of the cleverest farmers I have ever met had planted corn in May and, a month later, intercropped tomatoes on raised beds between the rows. The corn provided natural protection from the harsh sun and wind and offered structural support for the tomato plants. He had a bumper crop in August and got the highest rates from the market due to it being the lowest supply season of the year.
2. Introduce High-Value Crops
India can grow almost anything. We possess every possible geography and climate and some of the richest ecological diversity on the planet. Novel crops are already finding their way here; there are now several large, multi-hectare blueberry farms actively reducing our import dependency and many more will follow. The remarkable thing is that blueberries grown in India often taste better than imports from their native growing zones.
Tea, coffee, and spices have a wide range of heat tolerance and can be successfully experimented with across the hilly regions of Central, Northern and Eastern India. Araku coffee, grown by tribal farmers in the hills of Andhra Pradesh, is a model case study of a social endeavour with profound impact. This is a specialty product that has fetched premium prices in European markets and transformed community livelihoods virtually overnight.
A common objection is that certain products are already grown in surplus in specific regions. This should not become a point of contention. There need not be any competition between regions within India because the ultimate objective is exports and developing India into the food basket of the world.
The first step is to create a mandate to reduce imports and develop produce indigenously. This does not mean reducing palm oil imports and then encouraging our farmers to destroy native forests to plant palm orchards. Apple, pear and cherry orchards can extend eastward into Uttarakhand and the Northeast. Almonds and other tree nuts can move into hilly and temperate zones across the country; I have personally seen almonds thriving on the plains of Madhya Pradesh. Beyond exotic fruits, India also imports a sizeable volume of pulses. Our ancient farmers understood the virtue of planting nitrogen-fixing legumes between crop cycles, and this practice must be revived and encouraged nationally. I have even seen farms successfully growing rosemary and thyme in the 40-degree heat of the Deccan plateau. India was once the cradle of global spice production and trade and with the right intent, we can reclaim that position entirely.
3. Incorporate Orchards
Orchards are typically beyond the reach of the marginalised farmer due to their high capital expenditure and long fruition period. However, the government has introduced various schemes under the National Horticulture Board, MGNREGA, and several state-level initiatives to support and subsidise farmers towards this form of long-term asset creation. While every region has its champion fruit trees, there are numerous indigenous medicinal plants, herbs and fruits that have received little or no recognition even in their places of origin. Monkey jackfruit, Mysore raspberry, tendu fruit, chironji, ice apple, and khirni are just a few examples of native superfruits that deserve wider cultivation and post-harvest processing attention.
Lahori Jeera built a ₹3,000 crore company by selling a traditional jeera masala drink. It is time we turned our attention to our own superfoods. The market needs to go beyond a nostalgic taste into a genuine and growing global appetite for healthy, authentic options.
The forest department could champion this initiative by planting a billion fruit trees of at least a thousand different native species. Mangoes and guava on the fringes of Delhi, sea buckthorn along roadsides in Leh, tendu and jackfruit along the lanes of Ranchi. Every farmer will tell you that one of his greatest threats is crop damage from monkeys and wild boars. If our roads and highways are stocked full of fruit trees, then no one will need go hungry ever again.
4. Integrate Livestock, Poultry, Fisheries, Sericulture and Beekeeping
The Indian farm is underutilised when it produces only one kind of output. Integrating allied activities into the farming system is one of the most reliable and time-tested ways to create multiple revenue streams from the same piece of land.
Livestock and Poultry: India has the world’s largest bovine population, yet average milk yields remain well below global benchmarks. Improved breed management, fodder cultivation and basic veterinary access can dramatically increase income per animal. Backyard poultry, especially with indigenous breeds like Kadaknath and Aseel, will command a strong premium in both local and urban markets. The NABARD Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme and the National Livestock Mission offer direct financial support for this transition.
Fisheries: India is the third-largest fish-producing country in the world, yet inland aquaculture remains severely underdeveloped. Biofloc technology now allows fish farming in small tanks with minimal water and land requirements, making it viable even for marginal farmers. States like Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have demonstrated that fish farming can generate more income per hectare than most traditional crops.
Sericulture: Silk production is one of India’s oldest cottage industries, yet only Karnataka, West Bengal and a handful of Northeastern states dominate national output. Mulberry cultivation along farm bunds followed by silkworm rearing is a low-investment, high-return activity that employs the entire farm family, including women. The Central Silk Board runs extensive subsidy and training programmes that remain grossly underutilised.
Beekeeping: A single bee colony placed near a flowering crop can increase yields by 20–30% through pollination, while simultaneously producing honey, beeswax and propolis for sale. The National Bee Board estimates that the domestic honey market alone is worth over ₹6,000 crore and export demand continues to grow. Beekeeping requires minimal investment, no additional land and can be practiced even by the elderly and differently abled. It is free money sitting in our fields.
5. Incorporate Handicrafts and Local Utilitarian Goods
The farm is not merely a food factory, it is also a workshop, a studio and a repository of generational craft knowledge. Every farm produces agricultural by-products that can be transformed into saleable goods: paddy straw into furniture and packaging, bamboo into lampshades, baskets and structural material and coconut shells into artisanal kitchenware. The same hands that sow seeds in June can carve, weave and assemble through the lean rainfall months of summer or winter.
Bamboo: India is the second-largest producer of bamboo in the world, yet we import bamboo products from China. The National Bamboo Mission has been attempting to bridge this gap but the real opportunity lies in connecting rural artisans directly to urban designers and e-commerce platforms. Bamboo furniture, flooring and homeware are commanding extraordinary premiums in metro markets. A farmer who grows bamboo on the farm boundary and converts even a fraction of it into finished goods can multiply his income many times over.
Natural Fibre and Textile Crafts: Khadi, handloom and natural-dye textile traditions are embedded in nearly every state. The revival of these crafts, particularly when linked to organic farm inputs like indigo, turmeric and pomegranate rind for dyes, can create a compelling story for export and premium domestic retail. The KVIC and various state handloom boards provide both training and market linkages, yet farmer participation remains limited.
Value-Added Agricultural By-products: Rice husk can become fuel pellets or silica for industrial use. Mustard stalks can become particleboard. Maize cobs can become activated carbon. Most of this technology exists, is simple and is deployable at the village level. What is missing is awareness, aggregation and market linkage — gaps that NGOs, FPOs and agri-entrepreneurs are ideally positioned to fill.
6. Innovate for Unrecognised Superfoods
In the course of this article, we have touched upon a variety of foods that most readers would not have encountered. India has over 5,000 documented rice varieties, yet only a handful dominate the market. The same is true of millets, pulses, leafy greens and forest fruits. There is a current and growing global fascination with superfoods like quinoa from the Andes, acai from the Amazon and bobab from Africa. The world is waiting to discover what India has had all along but failed to commercialise.
Millets: India is the world’s largest producer of millets, yet per capita consumption has been declining for decades as rice and wheat were subsidised into every plate. Ragi, jowar, bajra, kodo, kutki and little millet are all nutritionally superior to wheat on almost every metric; higher protein, higher fibre, lower glycaemic index. They also grow on poor soils with a fraction of the water requirement. The government’s Nutri-Cereal initiative and the UN declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets created a brief tailwind but it is now the farmer’s turn to capitalise on it before the momentum fades.
Wild and Forest Produce: Mahua flowers, giloy, ashwagandha, shatavari and dozens of other wild-harvested or semi-cultivated plants command extraordinary prices in the nutraceutical and ayurvedic markets. Taxol, a blockbuster drug for a variety of cancers, is found in highest concentrations in a Himalayan plant called the Taxus Wallichiana. Organised cultivation of some of such plants on farm boundaries or forest edges can generate income that rivals the main crop. The Chhattisgarh and Odisha governments have been exploring forest-produce procurement at MSP, a model that other states must urgently replicate.
Fermented and Traditional Foods: Gundruk from the Northeast, ambali from Karnataka, kanji from Punjab, India has a fermented food tradition that is only now beginning to attract mainstream attention in the context of gut health and probiotics. The opportunity to standardise, package and sell these products nationally and internationally is enormous and largely untapped.
7. Develop Agrotourism
India’s agricultural landscape is astonishingly diverse and deeply underexplored as a tourism asset. From the terraced rice paddies of Nagaland to the lavender fields of Ooty, from the date groves of Kutch to the saffron farms of Pampore, the Indian farm has a story to tell and there is a large and growing audience willing to pay to hear it.
Agrotourism is not a niche idea. Maharashtra already has over 500 registered agrotourism centres generating meaningful supplementary income for farmers. States like Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala have seen explosive growth in farm stays. Yet the potential remains largely unmet in the agricultural heartland, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and the entire Northeast.
Heritage Tourism and Archaeology: Some of the most fabulous and undiscovered treasures of our country sit in and around farmland. Rakhigarhi in Haryana is the largest known Harappan site in the world, larger than Mohenjo-daro. It is 3 hours away from Delhi yet draws a fraction of the visitors it deserves. Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh is the birthplace of one of India’s classical dance forms, yet the village has almost no tourism infrastructure. Every district in this country has a fort, a temple, a craft tradition, or an archaeological site that, with the right storytelling and basic amenities, could become a destination. The farmer can participate in and benefit from providing this unique experience – linking nature, culture and heritage to the surrounding farmscapes.
Farm-to-Table and Culinary Tourism: The global farm-to-table movement has created a category of traveller who is specifically seeking authentic regional food experiences. A farmer can offer a meal cooked on a chulha with produce harvested that very morning from his own farms with recipes steeped in tradition yet unknown beyond a walking distance from his farm. Culinary weekends, harvest festivals, tree plantation and seed conservation camps are increasingly popular formats that generate income while preserving indigenous knowledge.
8. Build Digital Market Access: AgriStack and Agri-Marketplaces
One of the most persistent and preventable causes of low farmer income is market isolation/ market linkage. A farmer in interior Maharashtra does not know that the same onion selling for ₹10 per kilogram at his local mandi is retailing for ₹60 in Mumbai. He does not know that a buyer in the Netherlands is looking for organic turmeric and will pay three times the domestic rate. He does not know that a large food company is looking for a contracted supply of a minor millet that he grows as a boundary crop. The information exists but the access does not.
AgriStack: The Government of India’s AgriStack initiative is building a unified digital infrastructure for agriculture: a farmer registry, a geo-referenced land parcel map and a crop sown layer that together create a verifiable farmer identity. This digital identity is the foundation for direct benefit transfers, crop insurance without paperwork and most importantly, credit access without the traditional collateral barriers. When fully operational, AgriStack could be the most transformative public infrastructure intervention for farmers since the Green Revolution.
eNAM and Digital Mandis: The Electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) now connects over 1,300 mandis across the country, allowing farmers to list produce and receive bids from traders in other states. Yet adoption remains low because the last-mile logistics and quality assaying infrastructure is weak. Strengthening eNAM’s ground infrastructure and integrating it with private agri-marketplace platforms like DeHaat, Ninjacart and AgriBazaar would give farmers real price discovery for the first time.
Direct-to-Consumer and Export Platforms: A farmer with a GI-tagged product, an organic certification, or a unique variety of produce, has a story worth telling directly to the consumer. Platforms like the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Amazon’s Saheli and various state agri-export portals are already enabling this. The missing link is digital literacy, language-accessible interfaces and reliable partners at the farm and village level.
9. Build Cooperation: FPOs, Cold Chain, and Post-Harvest Infrastructure
It saddens me deeply when I visit a farm and hear that someone has had a pump stolen, a solar panel vandalised or a harvest ruined because there was no storage. I have never been able to understand why we so often work against each other rather than with each other. The spirit of cooperation is deeply innate to the Indian village and it simply needs a structure around it.
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs): India’s target of 10,000 FPOs has been achieved but the quality of FPO management, governance and market linkage remains uneven. The FPOs that succeed are invariably those with strong professional management, a clear commodity focus and a direct relationship with a processing or export buyer. One of the surest ways to make money as a farmer is scale and specialisation and the FPO is the vehicle that makes both possible for the smallholder. The government needs a new program to strengthen the existing FPOs, forgive all compliance penalties and incentivise CBBOs to work on their promoted FPOs to achieve all the targeted goals and aspirations of the program.
Post-Harvest Loss and Cold Chain: India loses an estimated 16% of its food production post-harvest and this is roughly ₹90,000 crore in value every year. The majority of this loss occurs in the absence of basic cold storage or processing units between the farm and the market. Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) technology, which flash-freezes individual pieces of fruit or vegetable at the point of harvest, can preserve produce for months without any loss of nutritional value. This technology has been prevalent around the world for more than 30 years but India has not developed a cold chain that can sustain this locally. Portable cold storage units, community-level pack houses and primary processing centres are investments that pay for themselves within a season. The government’s Agriculture Infrastructure Fund offers low-interest credit for exactly these assets, yet awareness among farmers remains low.
Corporate and Institutional Procurement: Large food companies, hotel chains and institutional buyers are actively seeking reliable, traceable, quality-consistent supply. A well-managed FPO with a grading line, a cold room and a documented post-harvest protocol can become a preferred supplier to brands that would otherwise import. Programmes like ITC’s e-Choupal and HUL’s Shakti have demonstrated that rural supply chain integration is both profitable and scalable. The missing link, again, is aggregation and professional management at the farmer collective level.
10. Tools and Mechanisation
A farmer friend once told me that farming is “drugery”. The Indian farmer works harder than almost anyone on earth and earns less than almost anyone in the formal economy. A large part of this disparity is rooted in labour intensity. When an entire family spends a week transplanting rice by hand, the labour cost alone can consume a substantial portion of the crop’s eventual value. The solution is not to replace the farmer with machines but to give the farmer the right tool for each task so that time, energy and money are spent where they create the most value.
Custom Hiring Centres: Not every farmer needs to own a tractor. A Custom Hiring Centre (CHC) is a shared machinery pool operated by an FPO, a cooperative, or an entrepreneur and this gives dozens of farmers access to a rotavators, seed drill, threshers or a drone at a fraction of the cost of ownership. The government has subsidised CHC establishment under multiple schemes and in states like Punjab and Haryana, the model has demonstrably reduced cost of cultivation.
Precision Agriculture: As an organic farmer, I am not a big fan of drones because their limited lifting capacity restricts them to spraying only the most toxic pesticides. But drones nevertheless, reduces pesticide and water use by up to 30% while covering in hours what a team of workers would take days to complete. Soil health sensors, satellite-based crop monitoring and AI-driven advisory platforms (like the one we are building at Matihaat) allow the farmer to make data-informed decisions on sowing, irrigation and intervention rather than relying purely on intuition and tradition. Precision agriculture is no longer the privilege of large commercial farms; the economics have shifted enough to make it accessible to the smallholder.
Post-Harvest Processing Equipment: A small oil expeller, a flour mill, a spice grinder or a solar dryer can transform raw produce into a finished product worth two to five times as much. These are not exotic technologies but available off the shelf, often subsidised and routinely underutilised. A group of ten farmers who pool resources to buy a cold press oil unit and sell branded mustard or groundnut oil directly to urban consumers are no longer farmers alone; they are food entrepreneurs. That is the transformation we are ultimately working towards.