1 hr ago
Bengaluru Farmer Supplies Baby Bottle Gourds to Qatar
Karigowda is a farmer near Bengaluru who grows small bottle gourds.
He picks them while they are still young, at about 500 grams each, because overseas buyers want them that size.
From September to December, he says he can harvest about one tonne a day.
He sells the gourds for about ₹50 per kilogram.
Brokers collect them and send them to buyers in Qatar.
At that rate, a day’s harvest is worth about ₹50,000 in sales, before costs are taken out.
Karigowda also grows brinjal and tomato.
He says trying different crops helped him find new markets.
Karigowda grows baby bottle gourds on his 3.5-acre farm in Karlapura Palya, Bengaluru Urban district.
He harvests the gourds at around 500 grams each to meet overseas buyers’ specifications.
During September to December, he reports harvesting about one tonne daily and selling it for roughly ₹50 per kg.
Brokers collect the produce from the farm and arrange exports to Qatar.
He also grows brinjal and tomato; his brinjal is sold in Hosur for around ₹45 per kg.
- Who
- Karigowda, a farmer with a 3.5-acre farm.
- What
- He grows and sells young bottle gourds for overseas markets, with brokers arranging exports to Qatar.
- Where
- Karlapura Palya in Bengaluru Urban district; the gourds are exported to Qatar.
- When
- The growing cycle generally begins in June or July; harvesting runs from September through December, with the first harvest about 70 days after sowing.
- Why
- He explored alternative crops after facing challenges getting suitable prices for conventional produce and learning of overseas demand.
Reported opportunity
Financial qualification
Income from baby bottle gourds
Reported opportunity
Karigowda describes the crop as financially rewarding, reporting about one tonne harvested per day at roughly ₹50 per kg.
Financial qualification
The article clarifies that the approximately ₹50,000 daily figure is gross sales, not net profit; cultivation, labour, packaging, and other costs must be deducted.
Key facts
- Farm size
- 3.5 acres
- Gourd size
- Around 500 grams each
- Reported daily harvest
- About one tonne during the harvest season
- Reported selling price
- Around ₹50 per kg
- Reported daily gross sales value
- Approximately ₹50,000, before expenses
- Harvest season
- September to December
- Other crops
- Brinjal and tomato; brinjal is sold in Hosur for around ₹45 per kg
Quotes
Karigowda
Bengaluru farmer who grows baby bottle gourds for overseas buyers.
“At one tonne a day and ₹50 a kg, the value of a day’s harvest is around ₹50,000 or about ₹14 lakh to ₹15 lakh a month. Brokers collect the produce and export it to Qatar. Baby bottle gourds have been very rewarding financially.”
livemint.com
“The arrival of technologies such as drip irrigation, mulching and improved farm machinery changed some of the possibilities. But I felt experimenting with different vegetable crops could improve revenues.”
livemint.com
Sources
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