Aridity! Loans! Debts! Unseasonable rains! Low market prices! It often looks like farmers have unending suffering in their lives.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons why none of us wants our kids to become farmers. Alternatively, we all want them to drown themselves in law or medical books so they can give their careers a big success. Do you think these career options are the only way to be successful? Definitely not. Let’s see why even farming can be quite rewarding – both mentally and financially. Here are the five people in India who prove this to be true:
Why are Indian Farmers so poor?
The problem of small farmer subsistence is complicated. Small farmers suffer from many production hazards like aridity, flood, lack of adequate data, poor extension leading to vital yield gaps, absence of guaranteed and proper irrigation, crop failure, etc.
85% of Indian farmers work on less than five acres of land, half of which may be dry or rainfed in many parts of India. Small farmers develop 51% of agricultural production and 46% of worked land, with a higher share of around 70% in high-value crops, such as vegetables and milk. However, mainly small farmers are less educated and come from peripheral castes and communities. As a result, they are generally prohibited from modern market systems, like contract farming or direct purchase.
Farmers need some inspiration, and they are completely fed up with all these situations. Sometimes they have to face protests; some natural calamities ruin their farms and their hard work. Life gives them many phases or challenges but does not give them time to fight with them.
How Much Does a Farmer Earn Annually in India?
India holds a 2 rank in the world when it comes to farm production. However, according to the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Household 2013, a typical Indian farming household earns just Rs 77,124 in a year, which is Rs 6,427 monthly, hardly sufficient to cover the average monthly expenses.
“Not only Hard Work, Farmers should start Smart Work”.
“If a farmer tickle the earth with a hoe it laughs with a crop.”
So let’s talk about some such farmers who gave importance to smart work along with hard work and gave a new look to the farming business. Today, those farmers are counted amongst the top wealthiest farmers of India and seeing whom the rest of our farmers should also take inspiration. So let’s know some of their ways of working and their smartness too. Innovative work is as important as hard work. So let’s start with the Top Richest Farmers in India.
Popular Richest Farmers in India 2024
The top farmers in India are considered among the wealthiest farmers, and the rest of the farmers must look up to them for motivation. To better understand their journey, check out below the richest farmer’s success stories in India.
Highlighted Points
| SN | Name | Farming | Location |
| 1. | Sachin Kale | Seasonal vegetables | Chattisgarh |
| 2. | Harish Dhandev | Aloe vera | Rajasthan |
| 3. | Ram Saran Verma | Banana, Tomato and Brinjal | Uttar Pradesh |
| 4. | Rajiv Bittu | Watermelon and Muskmelon | Jharkhand |
| 5. | Vishwanath Bobade | Mixed farming | Maharashtra |
| 6. | Ramesh Chaudhary | Corn | Rajasthan |
| 7. | Dnyaneshwar Bodke | Organic farming | Maharashtra |
| 8. | Khema Ramji | Polyhouse farming | Rajasthan |
| 9. | Geena Bhai Patel | Pomegranate | Gujarat |
1. Sachin Kale
Sachin Kale was a mechanical engineer from Nagpur who started his career by working at a power plant. In 2013, Sachin left his comfortable life in Gurgaon, where he worked as a manager for Punj Lloyd and got a substantial salary of Rs 24 lakh per annum. Then he shifted to Medhpar to become a farmer.
Sachin says: “everything was the challenge, as I had completely no clue about farming. So I had to learn everything from cultivating the land to sowing the seeds.”
Sachin invested his 15-year-old provident fund in setting up a clean energy model. As a result, his farm was valuable all year round and gave a maximum profit.
In 2014, Sachin Kale launched his own company, which helped farmers with the contract model of farming. Currently, Sachin’s company is helping 137 happy farmers working on 200 acres of land and drawing a turnover of around Rs 2 crore.
Highlighted Points
| Sachin Kale – Farmer From Small State Of Rajasthan |
| Mechanical engineer who started his journey towards farming. |
| He invested all his fundings to make a profitable farm. |
| In 2014, he started his company to help farmers. |
| Now, his annual turnover is approx Rs. 2 crore. |
2. Harish Dhandev
Harish Dhandev, a prosperous farmer and on 3rd number among the top 5 wealthiest farmers in India. He also left his government job to start Aloe Vera farming in Rajasthan. After that, he decided to work on his ancestral land in Jaisalmer.
Harish did his online research through resources, which connects farmers’ ideas with agri-experts. Harish found that if he looks for further fields and used online gateways to get national and international markets, he could quickly sell his stocks well.
Harish’s starting 80,000 trees quickly grew in number to seven lakh within six months. Next, Harish headed to get ten clients for his Aloe Vera stock within Rajasthan itself. But soon realized that they were selling the removed pulp at much higher prices. So he trained his labourers to remove the pulp, giving them all some extra income.
After many years, Harish has bought more land and currently grows Aloe Vera over hundred acres. In addition, he runs his company, Dhandev Global Group, located in Dhaisar, 45 kilometres from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. And currently, his turnover ranges between Rs. 1.5 to 2 crore.
By the above three stories, you think that only educated farmers can be successful. But that is rarely the case.
Highlighted Points
| Harish Dhandev – Pioneer in Aloe Vera Farming |
| A government servant who switched his life to do farming and started aloe vera farming. |
| Further, he started planting 80,000 trees. |
| Now he runs his company known as Dhandev Global Group. His annual turnover is about approx Rs. 2 crore. |
3. Ram Saran Verma
Ram Saran Verma is the Indian most affluent farmer who brings advanced and more profitable farming techniques. Moreover, he is the only farmer who brings these techniques to small Indian farmers and rural villages in his state. Ram Saran Verma has been felicitated by several Indian farming awards for his work. He started farming in 1990 with 5 acres of land. His constant efforts and modern farming techniques made him successful. Now, he has approx. 200 acres of agricultural land. He use his 100 acres of land for banana plantations and 100 acres for tomatoes and potatoes. His farming techniques have been considered and replicated across his state. In 2019, he was awarded India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri award.
Highlighted Points
| Ram Saran Verma – Awardee of Padma Shri Award |
| He teaches profitable farming techniques to rural farmers and he started farming in 5 acres of land. |
| He won many farming awards and in 2019 received the Padma Shri award. |
| His cultivation techniques help farmers across the state. |
4. Rajiv Bittu
Rajiv Bittu, Chartered Accountant by profession and a full-time farmer also. According to him, he makes more revenue from farming than his chartered accountancy firm.
As we all don’t want to raise our children between farmers, Rajeev Bittu’s three-year-old daughter refused to mingle with farmers during the visits to his ancestral village. So he decided to take up farming to change her views. So he took the first step, to lease some land in Kuchu village, 32 km far away from Ranchi.
Sometimes he did not arrange the funds to pay rent for the land. So he offered the landlord 1/3rd production of the produce he grew. And thus, his journey into agriculture began. He used the latest technologies, like drip irrigation and mulching, to get maximum production at his farm.
In Mid 2014, Rajeev had a good production of watermelon and muskmelon. But the profit was not as satisfactory as his investment. So he decided to divide the land into small sections and evaluate his investment and the profit earned from each part. Rajeev Bittu has acquired 32 acres of the farm on lease and grows brinjal, cucumber, watermelon and many vegetables. He earns a profit of around Rs 15 lakh to 16 lakh every year.
Highlighted Points
| Rajiv Bittu – Chartered Accountant, Now a Farmer |
| Rajiv Bittu chose farming over chartered accountancy. |
| He used modern techniques like drip irrigation and mulching. |
| He earns a profit of around Rs 15 lakh to 16 lakh every year. |
5. Vishwanath Bobade
Vishwanath Bobade, a farmer from Bahirwadi, Maharashtra, the drought-prone Beed district. He has earned Rs 7 lakh from farming by just one acre of land.
He decided to try multi-cropping and estimated that he could increase his crop by forming a wire fence and planting creepers and climbers on them.
Vishwanath also fixed a pipeline by his first-year profits to watered his plants. He has also chosen many farming methods like raised-bed farming and mulching, which has proved very beneficial.
He takes the help of only two labourers at his farm. However, he and his wife worked the entire 24×7 to take care of the plants. Hence the cost of the return is less, giving them better profits.
Highlighted Points
| Vishwanath Bobade – Farmer From Drought-prone Beed District |
| Vishwanath Bobade earns approximately 7 lakhs by one acre of land. |
| He use farming methods like raised-bed farming and others. |
| He has employed just two labours and have big support from his wife. |
6. Ramesh Chaudhary
Ramesh Chaudhary, a farmer living in Jaipur in Rajasthan, also has his status. He is the owner of three Greestein Polyhouses and one Green House in Jaipur. He cultivates tomato, cucumber in a polyhouse and floriculture in the greenhouse.
Apart from this, he cultivates maize in the open field. From all these, Ramesh earns a quarter of two crore rupees a year. He also has many expensive cars and luxurious bungalows. In these bungalows, he also parks his buffaloes along with the cars.
Highlighted Points
| Ramesh Chaudhary – Owner of 3 Greestein Polyhouses |
| Ramesh Chaudhary is a reputed person and a owner of a polyhouse in Jaipur. |
| He grows crops in a greenhouse and maize in open fields. |
| He earns quarter of two crore rupees a year and owns luxurious bunglows and cars. |
7. Dnyaneshwar Bodke
He planted the seed of a national award-winning farming initiative, “Abhinav Farmers Club”. This initiative was started when he saw many farmers mortgaging their farms on loans to manage their households. So he started convincing them not to sell away their land and make the most of it by specializing in horticulture and unusual vegetables. It led to the revolutionization of conventional agriculture through direct marketing without a mediator.
Highlighted Points
| Dnyaneshwar Bodke – Initiator of Abhinav Farmers Club |
| Dnyaneshwar Bodke is a revolutionary farmer. |
| He initiated the National programme as an Abhinav Kisan Club. |
| His aim is to provide organic fruits and crops at affordable prices. |
8. Khema Ramji
Israel is considered the most hi-tech country in the world in terms of agriculture. There the desert is irrigated with dew, wheat, and paddy are grown on the walls. It is a dream for millions of people in India. A farmer from Rajasthan started farming on the lines of Israel, and today you will not be able to live without praising him after hearing his annual turnover.
Guda Kumawatan is a village in the Jaipur district of Rajasthan, about 300 km from Delhi. It is the village of farmer Khemaram Chaudhary (45 years old). Khemaram has combined technology and his knowledge so that he has become an example for lakhs of farmers. Today his profit is in lakhs of rupees. Khemaram Choudhury started doing protected farming (poly house farming) four years ago on the lines of Israel. Today, around 200 poly houses have been built around them, and people now know this area as mini Israel. Khemaram is taking a turnover of one crore annually from his farming.
Guda Kumawatan village is about 35 km from Jaipur district headquarters of Rajasthan. The farmer of this village, Khemaram Choudhary (45 years), got an opportunity to go to Israel on behalf of the government. After his return from Israel, he did not have any deposits but saw the agriculture techniques there. So he decided that he would implement those techniques on his farm as well.
Highlighted Points
| Khema Ramji – Farmer Who Went Israel to Learn Agriculture Techniques. |
| He got an opportunity to go to Israel on behalf of the Indian government. |
| From Israel, he learned agricultural techniques, which he applied to his farms. |
| Now he has 200 poly houses and makes approx. one crore annual turnover by farming. |
9. Geena Bhai Patel
Geena Bhai Patel, a differently-abled farmer, grew pomegranates to help 60,000 others & received a Padma Shri for it. There is no life and no fun without challenges. Where people stop, he starts from there. He never felt that there is something he can’t do, said Geenabhai, born with polio in both his legs.
Highlighted Points
| Geena Bhai Patel – Padma Shri Awardee |
| In 2004, He brought 18,000 saplings and planted them in his field. |
| His every acre plantation gave him a Rs 10 lakh profit. |
So these are the top richest farmers in India, who also become an inspiration for other farmers.
FAQs of Richest Farmers in India
Ques.1 What are the names of Padma Shri Award winning farmers?
Ans. Ram Saran Verma and Geena Bhai Patel are Padma Shri Award winning farmers.
Ques.2 Which farmer got a chance to go to Israel on behalf of the Indian Government?
Ans. Khema Ramji got an opportunity to go to Israel on behalf of the Government of India and there he learned new farming techniques.
Ques.3 How much does a rich farmer earn in India?
Ans. A rich farmer in India can earn upto around Rs. 2 crores.
Ques.4 Which crop gives the highest returns in India?
Ans. Commercial crops including sugarcane, rice, wheat give the highest returns in India.
Ques.5 Is farming profitable in India?
Ans. Agriculture is the most productive sector globally, it also helps the economy of India.
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Top Richest Farmers in the World
Here are the wealthiest farmers in the world, known for more than just their hard work on the field. These farmers have earned not just in millions but billions because they didn’t shy away from adopting new effective modern farming practices.
| SN | Name | Farming | Location |
| 1. | Liu Yongxing | Producing animal Feed | China |
| 2. | Liu Yonghao | animal husbandry | China |
| 3. | Stewart and Lynda Resnick | Almonds and Oranges | California |
| 4. | Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer | dairy company | Riyadh |
| 5. | Harry Stine | Seed company | America |
| 6. | Andrej Babis | Fertilized trader | Czech Republic |
| 7. | Vadim Moshkovich | pork and sugar producers | Russia |
| 8. | Qin Yinglin | pig breeder | China |
| 9. | Fu Guangming | Chicken Rearing | China |
| 10. | Bao Hongxing | Pig Farming | China |
These were the dedicated and hard working farmers who are selflessly meeting the food security needs while carving a name for themselves in the agriculture sector. These names made it to the list of top richest farmers because they adopted modern farming technologies and implemented successful business strategies.
These names are truly an inspiration for people who want to enter the agricultural sector or want to increase their farm yield and revenues.
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