Angul, Nov 10 (UDN): What began with a modest investment of just Rs 100 in lemon saplings has blossomed into an agricultural success story worth nearly Rs 1 crore annually. Odisha farmer Santosh Sahu has turned indigenous Kagzi lemon cultivation into a thriving business, connecting hundreds of farmers to profitable markets and taking the state’s traditional produce beyond India’s borders.
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Hailing from Ogi village in Angul district, Santosh has built an extensive network of lemon growers, creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for nearly 700 to 800 farming families. Today, Kagzi lemons cultivated across more than 150 acres in and around the village are supplied to markets across Odisha and exported to countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
A Rs 100 Experiment That Changed Everything
The roots of this remarkable journey go back to Santosh’s father, Kartik Sahu, who was searching for an alternative source of income after repeated crop losses.
Farmers in Ogi village were struggling to sustain conventional agriculture due to frequent damage caused by elephants and monkeys. With cultivation becoming increasingly difficult, Kartik decided to experiment with indigenous Kagzi lemon farming.
He purchased 50 saplings at Rs 2 each, investing just Rs 100 in the initiative. What started as a small experiment gradually delivered encouraging results.
Inspired by the success of the plantation, Santosh took the initiative forward and transformed the family venture into a large-scale agricultural enterprise. Over the years, the small lemon garden expanded into a flourishing business, demonstrating how a low-cost farming experiment can create significant economic opportunities.
800 Farmers Become Part of the Success Story
Santosh’s achievement is not limited to his own earnings. One of the biggest milestones of his journey has been bringing hundreds of local farmers together under a common supply and marketing network.
Farmers from Ogi and surrounding areas now cultivate Kagzi lemons and sell their produce through Santosh, who helps connect them with larger markets.
“We harvest the lemons from our own land and sell some of the produce in the market. Farmers from across the village also bring sacks of lemons to us, and we also sell their produce. There are around 700 to 800 farmers in this village,” Santosh said.
The arrangement has given local growers a dependable channel to sell their harvest without having to independently search for buyers.
For many small farmers, this network has become an important source of household income.
Connecting Village Farms With Bigger Markets
The growing demand for Kagzi lemons has helped expand the business beyond the local market.
Farmers harvest lemons from their plantations and bring them to Santosh, who collects and markets the produce. A significant quantity is supplied to major commercial centres such as Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, while the enterprise has also reached international markets, including the US and UK.
Local farmers say the arrangement has helped them earn from produce that would otherwise have been difficult to market on their own.
“We harvest the lemons from our trees and sell them to Santosh. We give him around 3,000 to 4,000 lemons, depending on the quantity we harvest, and he pays us for the produce. He then sells them in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. We depend on this income to support our families,” said farmer Panchanan Sahu.
An Inspiration for Rural Entrepreneurship
From 50 saplings to cultivation spread across more than 150 acres, the Sahu family’s journey highlights the potential of indigenous crops and locally driven agricultural entrepreneurship.
More importantly, the initiative has shown how one farmer’s effort can create opportunities for an entire rural community.
At a time when farmers across the country are exploring alternatives to traditional cultivation, Ogi village’s Kagzi lemon success story offers an encouraging example of how crop diversification, collective marketing and access to wider markets can strengthen rural livelihoods.
What began as a Rs 100 experiment has grown into a business generating nearly Rs 1 crore annually, while putting Odisha’s indigenous Kagzi lemons on the international map.