From Rs 3 per kg to Rs 9 lakh an acre: How an ex-Merchant Navy professional transformed amla farming

From Rs 3 per kg to Rs 9 lakh an acre: How an ex-Merchant Navy professional transformed amla farming

In 2000, Shyam Singh’s family planted two acres of amla (gooseberry) on their farm in Sonipat, Haryana, after procuring saplings through the horticulture department. “One acre requires 72 saplings, so we received 144 saplings for two acres. In 2003, however, I went to work in the Merchant Navy, where my assignments took me across the Middle East, including Iraq and Dubai,” Shyam Singh tells 30Stades. By 2007, the amla trees had started flowering…