Meet man, whose family used to earn Rs 2000, lived in a mud house, built Rs 3.5 crore business, he is...

In the drought-prone Satara district of Maharashtra, farmers used to rely heavily on rain for irrigation, often leaving their crops at the mercy of nature. Nearly two decades ago, many farmers in Padali village were deceived into growing aloe vera after being promised high yields in the rainfed region.

“A businessman came to our village promoting aloe vera farming. He distributed pamphlets showing farmers holding stacks of money in one hand and aloe vera plants in the other. The slogan was ‘Aloe vera lagaiye aur lakho kamaiye’ (grow aloe vera and earn in lakhs),” recalls Hrushikesh Jayasing Dhane, a 44-year-old farmer.

Influenced by these promises, many farmers bought and planted thousands of aloe vera plants on their barren lands, hoping to become as prosperous as the man in the advertisement. “I was curious but skeptical, so I visited the office to ask about the market for aloe vera. When I requested examples of farmers who had earned lakhs, the officials got angry and threw me out,” Hrushikesh says.

When the harvest period arrived, the businessman had disappeared. “It was a scam. Farmers were devastated. Without a marketing plan, they cleared their fields and discarded the plants,” Hrushikesh shares. However, he decided to pick up the discarded aloe vera plants and plant them in his own field.

This decision changed his life, leading him to establish a multi-crore company. Raised in a humble family of farmers, Hrushikesh owned eight acres of land in Padali village, where his family grew crops like paddy, pearl millet, sorghum, and wheat. Despite their hard work, they often didn't get enough output due to lack of irrigation, as the nearest river was four kilometers away.

The family depended on Hrushikesh's father’s monthly salary of Rs 2,000 and lived in a small mud house. Their financial situation was so tight that they survived on low-quality sorghum chapatis and occasional vegetables. Hrushikesh didn't wear slippers until he was in Class 10. At 20, to support his family and fund his higher education, he worked for a marketing company.

He earned Rs 3,500 a month if he met the target of promoting Rs 1 lakh in sales, but the job required him to relocate 25 km away and manage his field responsibilities, making it unsustainable. Hrushikesh then started a nursery selling moringa and mango saplings, which only thrived during the monsoon. Gradually, he began selling fertilizers to farmers.

A turning point came in 2007 when farmers were discarding aloe vera plants. Hrushikesh planted 4,000 of these between mango and amla trees. “I thought there was no harm in growing aloe vera, even if it didn’t generate immediate income. I knew aloe vera could work as a termite repellent and protect my mango trees,” he says, having a bachelor’s degree in horticulture.

During local exhibitions in Satara, Hrushikesh saw small entrepreneurs selling aloe vera products. Inspired, he started making soaps, shampoos, and aloe vera juice, but these did not bring significant profits. Using his horticulture knowledge, he created natural pesticides, herbal spreaders, and plant growth promoters from aloe vera.

He found that mixing aloe vera with fish oil made an effective pest repellent and that spraying aloe vera spreader on plants like bananas helped spread pesticides evenly. In 2013, Hrushikesh began commercializing these products with the help of friends from his marketing job. Today, he produces 8,000 liters of aloe vera products annually from his expanded two-acre farm, achieving an annual turnover of Rs 3.5 crore, with a 30 percent profit margin.

Hrushikesh’s decision to plant aloe vera was initially opposed by his in-laws. His wife, Madhura, recalls, “We were newly married, and my parents believed aloe vera would bring us bad luck because of its thorns.” However, Hrushikesh proved them wrong, and now her parents use aloe vera from their field.

Reflecting on his success, Hrushikesh says, “When I started planting aloe vera, people said thorny plants bring bad luck. I lived in a mud house then, but now I have a two-storey home and a Fortuner car. This was all possible because of aloe vera. However, farmers should understand that significant profits come from producing and selling aloe vera products, not just growing the plant.”

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