A farmer from Parbhuwala village in Haryana's Hisar, in 2024, earned Rs 25 lakh from just bell peppers cultivated in one out of four acres of net house farming. The remaining three acres had a mix of other vegetables and fruits. Encouraged by this success, "This year, I have planted bell peppers across all four acres, which will be sold in Delhi's Azadpur market just like previous years," says Shiv Shankar Khowal (49).
His journey with cultivating fruits — which then later transitioned to English vegetables — started in 2005, prior to which he cultivated traditional crops including paddy and cotton. Since then, he has continued expanding the area under fruits and vegetables.
Khowal, in 2005, began cultivating guava (amrud) on two acres of land, which earned him an impressive profit of Rs 2.5 lakh per acre. In the later years, he expanded guava cultivation to four acres. However, three years ago, he stopped cultivating guava altogether. He transitioned to other fruits, finding them more profitable than guava.
Through time he expanded his horticulture ventures to 21 acres. Currently, his 21-acre fruit farm includes kinnow, lemon, jujube, sweet lime and date palm, all supported by drip irrigation. In 2020, Khowal purchased an additional five acres of land, with him owning 25 acres of land in total now, and significantly improved his financial condition. In the same year he also began vegetable farming in the net house, which he expanded to four acres by 2021.
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