Avocado experiment bears fruit in Kadapa

KADAPA: A Class X dropout from a remote village in Kadapa district has taken an unconventional farming experiment to the national stage. Karana Varadaraju Reddy of Velidendla village successfully raised avocado trees despite Rayalaseema’s harsh climate and harvested nearly four tonnes from his four-year-old orchard, a feat later featured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

Varadaraju’s journey began with a simple question: could he cultivate a crop with growing demand among health-conscious consumers? After discontinuing his formal education following Class X, he decided to explore new possibilities in farming rather than stick to conventional crops.

He began watching agricultural videos on YouTube, particularly those explaining avocado cultivation, its nutritional value and market potential. He also travelled to Karnataka to observe avocado plantations and understand cultivation practices first-hand. Convinced by the growing demand for the fruit, he decided to experiment with avocado cultivation on his farm about four years ago.

Varadaraju said avocado cultivation requires relatively low expenditure compared with several conventional crops. Apart from weed management, he said there was little need for pesticides or chemical fertilisers. With drip irrigation and watering once a week, he managed to harvest around four tonnes.

He sold the entire first harvest locally at around Rs 100 a kg. Rather than sending the produce to markets in other states, local consumers and buyers from surrounding areas purchased the fruit. The first harvest fetched him nearly Rs 4 lakh, effectively doubling the income he had been earning from conventional farming.

The success has also attracted buyers from Anantapur and Kadiri, who regularly contact him seeking avocados to prepare juices and salads. With demand increasing, Varadaraju believes the crop has considerable potential in the Rayalaseema region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while mentioning Varadaraju’s success in ‘Mann Ki Baat’, observed that farmers could make agriculture more profitable by embracing technology, scientific methods and suitable markets. He also cited examples of farmers in other parts of South India who are benefiting from avocado cultivation, including Chandrasekaran of Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu and farmers in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, who grow avocado as an intercrop in coffee plantations.

For Varadaraju, the next step is helping farmers replicate his success. With avocado cultivation gaining traction in Rayalaseema, he has set up a nursery to supply planting material.

He plans to source seeds from Coorg, raise saplings and graft them with branches from his orchard. These grafted plants will be sold at affordable prices, with supply expected by June 2027.

What began as an attempt by a Class X dropout to find an alternative crop has evolved into a model of innovative farming, local marketing and farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing.

His success has also drawn attention to Kadapa’s emerging horticulture sector. Support from the State government and the Kadapa district administration, coupled with farmers’ willingness to experiment with new crops, could help the district develop its horticulture potential.