- Thursday, February 27, 2025
Despite facing a setback in May due to low prices, 36-year-old Ishwar Gaykar displayed worked tirelessly on his 12-acre farm, cultivating tomatoes.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AMID the burden of soaring tomato prices affecting the common man, a farmer from Pune in the western Indian state of Maharashtra has become a millionaire by selling his abundant tomato yield for a remarkable sum of Rs 3 crore (£283,042) in just over a month, despite facing various challenges.
Ishwar Gaykar, a 36-year-old farmer from Pachghar village in Junnar tehsil of Pune district, had to make a difficult decision in May when he was forced to dump a substantial quantity of harvested tomatoes due to low prices.
However, undeterred by this setback, Gaykar displayed unwavering determination and continued to work tirelessly on his 12-acre farm, cultivating tomatoes.
Now, with the market prices for tomatoes skyrocketing, his hard work has paid off handsomely, elevating him to millionaire status as he claimed to have earned Rs 3 crore through the sale of his crop yield between June 11 and July 18.
During this period, he sold an impressive 18,000 crates of tomatoes (each crate weighing 20 kilograms) at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee in Narayangaon in the same tehsil.
Gaykar intends to earn an additional Rs 50 lakh (£47,174) by selling the remaining produce, which amounts to roughly 4,000 crates. The total cost of cultivation, including transportation, amounted to Rs 40 lakh (£37,739).
His success story speaks of resilience and hard work, especially considering that just two months ago, he had to discard tomatoes due to extremely low prices, which were as low as Rs 2.50 (£0.02) per kg.
He highlighted that this year’s tomato yield on his 12-acre land was cultivated despite the challenging circumstances faced earlier. He diligently cared for the produce even during the scorching heat of May, leading to a bountiful harvest when tomato cultivation in other areas suffered due to high temperatures.
Another farmer, Raju Mahale, also saw success, earning over Rs 20 lakh (£18,869) by selling 2,500 crates during the current season. Both farmers experienced initial doubts about tomato cultivation after the May debacle, where input costs were around Rs 3.5 lakh (£3,302) per acre.
However, their determination paid off with impressive dividends.
Narayangaon agriculture market trader, Akshay Solat, who purchased Gaykar’s produce, remarked on the unprecedented boom in the tomato market, with prices reaching Rs 2,400 (£23) per crate. This remarkable consistency in tomato prices had not been witnessed before. However, it is noteworthy that only a select group of farmers, including those from Pachghar, Otur, Ambegavhan, and Rokdi, earned handsomely this season.
Sanjay Kale, Chief of Narayangaon APMC, explained that this season witnessed a significant drop in tomato production due to past years’ losses and crop disease issues during the summers. Consequently, the market received fewer crates daily, with around 30,000 to 35,000 crates per day compared to the usual 1.5 lakh (0.15 million) to 2 lakh (0.2 million) crates.
North India’s tomato production also suffered, leading traders from other states to flock to the Narayangaon market to procure the key kitchen staple.
(With agency inputs)
