Meet Shrikanth Bollapally, once worked at a farm for Rs 1000 salary, now his annual income is Rs...

Shrikanth Bollapally, a simple farmer belonging to Telangana, has achieved an extraordinary success through floriculture, a practice concerned with growing and marketing flowers and ornamental plants as well as with flower arrangement. 

Bollapally, who worked at a farm for a Rs 1,000 salary per month at the age of 16, now earns Rs 70 crores annually through floriculture. Not only did he achieve success through his hard work and dedication, he provided employment to more than 200 people at his farm. 

The journey of Shrikanth Bollapally reflects that there is a plethora of possibilities in agriculture and through a little courage and relentless hard work, one can achieve a great success. 

Journey of Shrikanth Bollapally 

Born in a small village at the Nizamabad district of Telangana, Srikanth Bollapally's childhood was spent in poverty. Despite belonging to a farmer family, debt was a part of his life. Bollapally wanted to improve his situation by studying.

However, after he completed his matriculation, his parents expressed the inability to educate him further. At 16, Bollapally moved to Bengaluru in quest of work to assist his family financially. Staying at a relative's house in Bengaluru, he kickstarted practices related to floriculture, for which, he used to make Rs 1,000 per month. 

The money that he earned was very little. But, he had no other choice. After doing this work for a year, Bollapally had gained considerable experience in flower cultivation and its marketing.

He realised that there was an immense potential for success in floriculture. He later decided to do something on his own. Without any financial help, Shrikanth Bollapally started trading by purchasing flowers from farmers with very little capital. After this, in 1997, Srikanth opened a small flower shop in Bengaluru. 

How Shrikanth Bollapally started floriculture?

Srikanth Bollapally ran his flower shop for about 10 years. Profits were good but he had a desire to do something on a large scale. He wanted to cultivate flowers.

Since he had many contacts related to the flower business, he thought that he would not face much difficulty in farming. This prompted Bollapally to enter the floriculture business.

The decision was full of challenges. The biggest challenge he confronted was that of capital arrangement. 

In floriculture, investment per acre is higher as compared to traditional farming. Due to higher investment, the risk is also higher.

Srikanth Bollapally had some savings. He approached the National Horticulture Board for additional assistance. Investing all his savings, he started flower cultivation on 10 acres of land, which has now increased to 52 acres.

Annual income is Rs 70 crore 

"Where there is a will, there is a way", Shrikanth Bollapally's journey stands as a true testamant to this. 

Today, he grows 12 varieties of flowers in his 52-acre farm near Bengaluru. These include rose, gerbera, carnation, gypsophila and other flowers. These are grown organically in greenhouses and polyhouses.

Bollapally is today earning handsome profits from his flower farming venture. He works with a team of over 200 people to serve his clients across the country with an annual turnover of Rs 70 crores.