Sameer Sharma
TIAS School for Business and Society
Mirjam Minderman
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The journey started when a computer engineer working for a multinational company decided one day to leave corporate life and start protective agriculture to create value for himself & society. Shobit Kaul always had a keen interest in agriculture and he believes if done properly agriculture can be a very profitable business. He is quoted saying "if you operate your farms as factories and follow the same rules any crop can be made profitable." The Indian agriculture system is not fully modernized and farmers are mostly unfamiliar with modern technologies which can enhance production. Thus the idea of opening his own poly-house came to his mind where he can grow commercial flowers while training farmers in modern cultivation methods.
Shobit Kaul found out about protective cultivation on the internet, where he learnt how a poly-house structure is made with steel & polythene. The poly-house is actually a cheaper version of a green house and is famous in tropical countries like India. Inside this structure environmental conditions like sunlight/humidity can be controlled and by controlling nutrients any crops can be grown over the entire year. He said, "we can grow any crop but the investment in this structure is high and hence only profitable crops like flowers or high-end vegetables are feasible from a business point of view." This structure also protects plants from insects, birds and animals. He also uses the Israeli technique called drip irrigation which gives water & nutrients to plants drop by drop via a pipe. The Indian government, as part of their plan to modernize agriculture, promotes these kinds of projects and provide 50% subsidy of total project cost. These factors of profitable & innovative cultivation and support from the Indian government encouraged him to take this entrepreneurship project seriously.
Shobit was very inspired and fascinated by the advancements and innovations of Israel in the field of agriculture. He said, "if Israel can grow crops in a desert than anybody can be a farmer." He read about poly-house and drip irrigation techniques from the internet and researched existing success stories from an Indian perspective. Moreover his true inspiration was to be a successful and sustainable entrepreneur who can create shared value for business, society, and the environment. He was very disturbed by the state of farming in his village and conditions in which farmers live with their families. He was also concerned about their level of knowledge in production enhancement techniques. This led him to decide to make the efforts and teach others about the vast knowledge that is available on the internet. This information - if combined with practical hands-on experience - will be substantially beneficial for the people. He decided to make a proof of concept and a training center for people which will also fulfill his entrepreneurship dreams. He was eager to create more knowledgeable jobs which can help individuals in terms of money, gender equality, and poverty reduction.
Shobit started his journey to the field of agriculture with new motivations and inspirations. He bought land in his village, secured a loan from the bank to support this project, and applied for government subsidies. The journey was not easy as he had no experience in agriculture and his family background was also not related to farming. Nevertheless, after his desktop research he got in touch with some poly-house owners to begin training in maintaining and operating poly-house and drip irrigation system. Eventually, he built his own poly-house in an area of 4,000 square meters. He said, "I wanted to start modestly because I was unsure of my own capabilities in this field, but now with the success of this project I am going to scale up." To his surprise, neighboring farmers were very keen and supportive in this venture. They were interested in the nature of the project and how they can learn from it. Within a few days he received many visitors, a few of them were interested in learning the complete process and some were flower purchasers who wanted to place pre-orders for fresh flowers. People also contributed in the development of this project by means of labor, time, and resources. The project also caught the attention of the village women as they sensed job opportunities which could give them earning as well as time to manage their families. Overall the project gave the village and associated communities a whole new perspective to think and act upon.
After extensive research Shobit selected commercial farming of the Gerbera flower. In India, Gerbera is widely used as decorations in marriages and other celebrations, so frequent demand is available for this flower. As he said, "Flowers are like cash crops, a bit risky because they can perish faster but once in demand they are hot selling items." The only thing to maintain is quality and freshness of the flower. To enhance this competitive edge, he partnered with people from the decoration industry around the village and assured them low prices and high quality. The decorators were interested because they were ordering flowers from big cities which lost quality during transportation, but here the flowers were grown in a local village with enhanced freshness and quality. Thus, serving the local market is Shobit's biggest asset which ensures him sustainability and scalability in the long run. With continuous good production and service, his flowers are always pre-ordered. He said, "now the people from the decoration industry are encouraging me to open another bigger poly-house because the demand is increasing day by day." Hence these days he is busy looking for land where he can open his second venture.
The project created significant social and environmental impacts. The poly-house is used as a training center to impart knowledge and to conduct workshops for ambitious farmers. This is a free service to all interested individuals and in return Shobit gets free helping hands to carry out various project related tasks. The poly-house in itself is creating a positive wave among new, young farmers as they can visualize how modern techniques can boost yield and quality. Apart from the training aspect, the project has created job opportunities in the village. These jobs not only pay better, but also are knowledgeable which will help employees in the future. Thus, Shobit's vision of reducing poverty and creating sustainable jobs is getting realized via this project and later in future projects. Secondly he is focused on gender equality and eager to give employment to women, making them self-sufficient. He segregated jobs that are suitable for women and he makes sure that only women are employed for these tasks. With respect to the environment, the drip irrigation system is a boon to conserve water. As only drops are used to irrigate plants, the wastage of water is negligible and hence this method is way more efficient than open irrigation systems which are commonly used in India. Also the water used in this system can be mixed with minerals and fertilizers thus restricting the use of fertilizers to the bare minimum and avoiding pollution.
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Shobit Kaul, Owner
The journey started when a computer engineer working for a multinational company decided one day to leave corporate life and start protective agriculture to create value for himself & society. Shobit Kaul always had a keen interest in agriculture and he believes if done properly agriculture can be a very profitable business. He is quoted saying "If you operate your farms as factories and follow the same rules any crop can be made profitable." The Indian agriculture system is not fully modernized and farmers are mostly unfamiliar with modern technologies which can enhance production. Thus the idea of opening his own poly-house came to his mind where he can grow commercial flowers while training farmers in modern cultivation methods.