A berry sweet dream

In July 2006, the industrialist known for manufacturing jams, sauces, ketchup, syrups, pulps, pickles and purees, decided to paint the town red. Well, actually, only two-and-a half acres of it. After renting the patch of land from a farmer, he initiated a trend that has the people in the town wanting to ape him. 8220;We bought more than 5,000 strawberry plants from Mahabaleshwar, developed our own nursery and used the plants for cultivation,8221; explains Gandhi.

Why strawberry? 8220;Jejuri8217;s climate is conducive for its cultivation. We also have a better monsoon compared to Mahabaleshwar,8221; says Gandhi. Most importantly, he succeeded in harvesting the fruit almost two months before Mahabaleshwar did, and sold it at Rs 500 per kg.

Though strawberry cultivation has proved expensive8212;Gandhi invested around Rs 5 lakh8212;he managed a turnover of Rs 6 lakh and a profit of Rs 1.5 lakh in the first year of cultivation.

The 52,000 strawberry plants dotting the land come in two varieties8212;Sweet Charlie and Camarosa. The berries are picked and sorted according to size, shape and quality, then packed in eight packs of 18 strawberries each and supplied to markets in Delhi, Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

8220;Each plant yields around 400 gm. I want to raise it to 700 gm this year,8221; says the man who gets 150-200 kg of produce every alternate day, with the smaller strawberries that cannot be sold in the open market used to manufacture jam.

Gandhi, who already has two factories and another one in the pipeline, now wants to expand his strawberry business. He, however, wants 8220;the Maharashtra government to include strawberries in its list of agricultural products that enjoy subsidies8221;.

Whether it happens or not, Gandhi intends to continue with his dream 8220;because I also employ 250 people who depend on me. I can8217;t take them for granted8221;. Nobody can accuse him of taking things for granted.