A banker by profession, Amith Kishan always wanted to go back to his roots and become a farmer, like his grandfather.
However, the motivation to leave the corporate world was triggered when he lost a client to cancer.
“There was a person who was insured with me. In a span of 1.5 years, he died of cancer. I did all the claiming formalities for the family,” he says.
“Looking at this, I understood that we need to correct ways of how we are living, and what we are eating as our food is not up to the mark. I wanted to correct that,” he says.
So, Amith quit his job and started Hebbevu Farms in 2019 with an aim to provide customers with organic and fresh vegetables, pulses, and dairy produce.
Today, his farm is also home to 700 indigenous cows and buffaloes including Gir, Sahiwal, and Jafarabadi.
“The cows, buffaloes, and bulls help us practise natural farming, sell dairy products, make biogas, and boost farm tourism,” he says.
In order to keep sustainability at the core, he adopted eco-friendly practices and replaced the use of plastics, chemicals, and tractors, relying on traditional farming methods.
Starting with a loan of Rs 1.5 crore, today he clocks an annual revenue of Rs 21 crore from his field spread across 650-acre farmland.
Amith says his decision to become a farmer was the best choice. “In Bengaluru, we were dependent on burgers as a meal. Here, I live a peaceful slow life and pluck fruits directly from the tree whenever we want.”