India wants to join the strawberry superpowers

Mahabaleshwar, a mountainous region in western India, is the primary hub for the country's strawberry farming. Approximately 85% of India's strawberry cultivation takes place here. The area experiences a cool growing season from November to March due to its altitude of over 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and well-drained light soil. However, strawberry farming is a labor-intensive and risky venture.

Unpredictable heavy rains can devastate the entire crop, causing significant losses for farmers like Sheetal Danavle, who replant her strawberry plants every season at a cost of $2,500 (£1,900).

Despite the profitability of strawberries in western India, the industry continues to rely on imported varieties from countries such as California, Florida, Italy, and Spain. This is because no Indias have developed their own domestic strawberry plant. It takes 10 to 15 years for breeders in the US and Europe to create a top-quality fruit, and they protect their varieties through patents.

Strawberry propagation in Mahabaleshwar is a high-tech process. Imported mother plants are used to produce daughter plants, which are sold to farmers in specialized coco-peat substrate containers. These containers are climate-controlled using a drip-irrigation and fogging system. The Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV) agricultural university in Maharashtra is working with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to develop an indigenous, climate-resilient strawberry cultivar that matches the large fruit size and firm texture of foreign varieties while tolerating Indian heatwaves. This process could take 10 to 15 years.

Meanwhile, some farmers are exploring alternative cultivation methods to mitigate risks associated with unpredictable weather. For instance, Ketan Yashwant Sodha, the founder and CEO of Berry Fresh Agrotech, has switched to hydroponics in recent years due to heavy rains ruining his open-field crops. By controlling water, nutrients, light, and temperature in a semi-open polyhouse, Sodha has succeeded in growing strawberries year-round, producing high-quality fruits with rich, concentrated sugars and aromas.

Sodha is now working with investors to expand his trial facility to accommodate 200,000 plants. Other farmers, such as Krishan Bhilare's family, are also leveraging technology to monitor weather conditions and optimize their farming practices.