From Greece to Punjab’s fields: How a young farmer built a Rs 2-crore sugarcane enterprise

Hargurjit Singh Minhas, a 36-year-old farmer from Daroli Kalan village in Jalandhar, has transformed his wheat-paddy farming into a thriving sugarcane enterprise, generating an estimated annual revenue of over Rs 2 crore. After spending eight years in Greece, Minhas returned to Punjab and completed his Diploma in Agriculture Extension Services for Input Dealers (DAESI).

He now cultivates sugarcane on 60 acres, including 12 acres of family-owned land and 48 acres leased at Rs 35,000 per acre annually. Minhas grows seven to eight intercrops between the standing cane, including wheat, gram, peas, linseed, moong, mash, and mustard, which contribute an estimated additional income of Rs 20,000-25,000 per acre.

He employs a trench-based planting system and the single-eye bud technique to raise seedlings in a nursery before transplanting them in the field, reducing seed requirements by nearly 80%. Minhas uses Coimbatore selections and Punjab varieties such as PB 96 and PB 98, with yields averaging around 425 quintals per acre. He also utilizes ratooning, a practice that avoids fresh planting and reduces expenditure on seed cane and land preparation.

Minhas has invested Rs 2 crore in mechanised harvesting, which allows him to harvest and transport around 1,000 quintals of cane daily. He charges Rs 70-100 per quintal for harvesting services and provides transportation to other sugarcane growers, generating an estimated gross receipt of Rs 80-85 lakh per season. After covering expenses, Minhas estimates a net profit of 30-35%.

He has never taken a loan for routine farming operations but borrowed to purchase the harvester, aiming to repay the loan soon and make the machinery debt-free.