Maharashtra farmer turns millionaire in a month as tomato prices go through the roof

Gaikar, who hails from Junnar in Maharashtra's Pune, hit it rich by cultivating tomatoes. Twelve of his farm's eighteen acres were allocated to his tomato harvest. With the help of his son Ishwar Gaiker and daughter-in-law Sonali, he grew tomatoes on a plot of land measuring 12 acres.

Each harvest of tomatoes he grew was of a superior quality. The Tukaram family claims their tomatoes thrive because of the fertilisers and pesticides they use. He earned Rs 2100 per carton of tomatoes in Narayanganj. On Friday, he sold 900 cartons for Rs 18 lakh.

Additionally, in June, he received between Rs 1000 and Rs 2400 for each box of tomatoes, depending on their quality. While Tukaram's son Ishwar manages the company's sales and finances, his daughter-in-law Sonali is responsible for the tomato plant's growing, nutrition, watering, packaging, etc. 

Their efforts over the past three months have paid off handsomely because of the thriving market.

At the Junnu Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee market in Narayanganj, Pune, cartons of premium tomatoes command the highest prices. Tomatoes in a 20-kilogram container cost Rs 2,500. Many people in Junnar, Pune district, have become wealthy overnight by cultivating tomatoes. 

More than a hundred local women are now employed owing to the Tomato Growers Association, which has performed business worth about Rs 80 crore this time.

It's not just in Maharashtra that tomato sales have turned farmers into millionaires. A farmer from Kolar in Karnataka, brought home Rs 38 lakh this week after selling 2,000 cartons of tomatoes.