Starting a farm in India can be incredibly rewarding, but it takes careful planning. If you have land but don’t know where to start, learning from those who’ve already built successful farms can be invaluable. Here, five farmers share their best insights to help you build a thriving farm.

Namita Rawat Negi and Manisha Gosain – Doon Gooseberry Farm

Location: Dehradun, Uttarakhand

What they did: Built an organic farm from scratch and launched value-added products

Annual earnings: Rs 11 lakh (FY 2023-24)

In 2021, sisters Namita Rawat Negi and Manisha Gosain founded Doon Gooseberry Farm without any prior farming experience. Today, they cultivate vegetables like tomatoes, brinjals, pumpkins, and spinach while also selling a range of value-added amla-based products, including amla candy, amla garlic pickle, amla lemon pickle, amla chutney, and amla ginger pickle.

Lessons from their success:

1) Focus on organic farming for better yield

The duo emphasises the benefits of organic farming. “Our produce flourishes under the sun, untouched by chemical sprays or insecticides,” says Manisha. They use natural fertilisers like eggshells, vegetable peels, and cow manure to enrich the soil.

2) Involve the local community

By collaborating with local women and small processing units, Namita and Manisha expanded........

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