Left his corporate career behind to start a dairy farm – 40 cows in the farm soon expanded to 250 cows, and then the pandemic hit. Losses followed, but 38-year-old Raj Singh didn’t give up; he was brimming with entrepreneurial zeal.

This determination in the dairy farmer made him an innovator and paved wthe ay for his startup ‘Growing Tree Organic Pvt. Limited’.

The Better India sits down with Ghaziabad-based Raj Singh to know more about his journey.

In 2017, Raj started his farm in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, after he quit his decade-long corporate life. “I wanted to be an entrepreneur, and dairy farming seemed the right way,” he shares.

Starting with 40 cows on seven acres of leased land, his enterprise rapidly expanded to 250 cows. Life seemed predictable — until the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

As the pandemic grip tightened, Raj faced a barrage of logistical nightmares. The lockdowns disrupted supply chains, making it nearly impossible for deliveries to reach his customers.

With operational costs skyrocketing, the financial strain became overwhelming. Raj had to confront a heartbreaking reality: shutting down the dairy operations and parting with his cherished cattle to stave off further financial collapse.

“I incurred massive losses of almost ₹60 lakh per month. That’s when I knew I had to change or perish,” he says.

Here’s where the turning point came.

In the cascade of adversity, Raj unearthed an intriguing opportunity with cow dung. A byproduct that he once sold at nominal prices, suddenly gleamed with newfound potential.

As Raj grappled with the pandemic’s challenges, he saw cow dung not as waste, but as the cornerstone of a sustainable venture — vermicomposting.

Raj ventured into producing vermicompost, a rich organic fertiliser, harnessing earthworms to transform cow manure into a valuable agricultural resource. This bold pivot didn’t just rescue him from the brink of financial despair — it catapulted him into a thriving new........

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