One Crop Changed Everything: Meet the Maharashtra Farmer Who Makes ₹2 Million Annual Turnover Selling Fruit

One farming idea helped Mahesh Asabe’s family achieve an annual turnover of Rs ₹2 crores. Their journey began with dragon fruit on three acres in Maharashtra’s Solapur. Today, Rukmini Farms and Nursery covers 60 acres and grows several varieties of fruits. Dragon fruit itself brings ₹1.25 million annually, according to Startup Pedia.

Mahesh hails from a farming family in Akola village, Solapur. His family used to grow traditional crops. In 2013-14, his father decided to try dragon fruit after reading about it. Due to its relatively low water requirement, this crop was attractive for agriculture in arid regions.

The family brought around 9,000 seedlings from Bangladesh to start cultivation. Mahesh told Startup Pedia that these seedlings are standing around ₹9.9 million. He said his family was among the first dragon fruit growers in Maharashtra. Their decision introduced a different crop to the family farm work.

The first harvest arrived in 2015-16 with a yield of around five tonnes per acre. Over three acres, that meant roughly 15 tons of dragon fruit.

The sale of this product brought the family ₹5 lakhs. The sale price is almost out ₹33 per kilogram. Until 2017, they were selling dragon fruit for ₹150 to ₹250 per kilogram.

Mahesh supported the venture with his education and training. He completed his BSc in Agricultural Engineering before pursuing M.Tech.

His postgraduate studies were in Agricultural Engineering and Food Industry. During his university studies, he completed a 45-day training program in Israel.

In Israel, Mahesh learned about water management and modern farming methods. He also studied how technology could help increase crop production.

In 2018, he traveled to Vietnam to learn more about dragon fruit cultivation. At home, he created demonstration plots, each covering one acre, to show various techniques.

Water management has become an important part of farm improvement. Mahesh introduced drip irrigation and farm ponds to strengthen the water facilities. He also used the machines for routine tasks such as weeding. These changes brought his training and technical knowledge into everyday farming activities.

More than dragon fruit

Mahesh now manages Rukmini Farm, which has expanded far beyond its original three acres. In addition to dragon fruit, the farm grows pomegranates, custard apples and guavas.

Its annual production of dragon fruit is around 200 tons. Sales from other fruits bring the farm’s total annual turnover to ₹2 crores.

“I decided early on that I wanted to build my career in agriculture. I wanted to understand agriculture scientifically and learn how to improve farming practices, so I decided to study agricultural engineering,” Mahesh told Startup Pedia.

The family’s story shows how one crop choice can transform a farming business. Their growth combined investment, learning, water management and changes in daily work. The figures given describe annual profits and turnover rather than confirmed net profit.