Satinder Singh Rawat, like many others, lost his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than letting this setback discourage him, he chose to see it as an opportunity to pursue his long-term dream of starting his own agricultural business into a reality.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Satinder had been working in Dubai as a retail operations manager in the Gulf for 15 years. However, in June 2020, he lost his job which forced him to come back to Noida. This unexpected turn led him to rethink his career plan.
After managing a business worth Rs 2,500 crore and 200 stores, he was experienced enough to apply for similar positions. But with an ongoing pandemic, any job would pose the same risk.
Thus, he decided to start his venture into farming with his wife Sapna. He began researching and planning out his business model and discussed his idea with his friends and father-in-law.
Since they have no prior farming experience, they hired a professional to guide them initially. Later, they rented 1.5 acres of land in Ramnagar village in Nainital, Uttarakhand.
Initially, his father-in-law suggested pursuing horticulture due to harvest possibility every 2 months. But it wasn’t financially feasible at the moment, so the couple decided to start growing button mushrooms.
Began Practicing Mushroom Farming
In January they set up Shreehari Agrotech and began cultivating mushrooms. They set up a facility with two huts made from bamboo and plastic, complete with air conditioners to control the temperature for optimal mushroom growth.
With their 1st harvest in March and April, they earned Rs 6 lakh with it.
Presently, their mushroom venture makes around Rs 2.5 lakh per month.
Although the first six months were full of challenges and failures. Despite this, they overcome these obstacles and make their business successful. Now, their mushrooms are widely sold due to their quality and availability in various locations such as Ramnagar’s Vegetable Markets, banquet halls, restaurants, and among others, customers.
Acing the Business Without Farming Background
The couple has no farming background and no formal training in mushroom farming. To guide them through the initial phase, they hired a professional on a contractual basis.
Their core team (10 people) works closely with the trainer to learn the basics. Now, the couple has understood and learned enough about the ropes. According to them, they can now easily grow and make mushroom compost without any help.
Promoting the Hut Model and Future Prospects
Sapna plans to set 2 huts in Batwaron village in Beeronkhai block to increase their mushroom production to 70 tonnes. The value of this batch will be around Rs 40 lakh in next 6 months.
Additionally, they have started cultivating oyster mushrooms and seasonal vegetables (growing organically).
Their unique hut model is designed to help farmers earn more from smaller plots of land and reduce the reliance on traditional crops alone.
Through his sustainable farming practices he aims to inspire other farmers to explore non-traditional crops for better economic outcomes.
Picture Credits: Shreehari Agrotech, Satinder Singh Rawat
