Three agricultural innovators shared their experiences at the Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026. Their ventures showed how value addition, diversification and practical changes can improve rural incomes.Three agricultural innovators shared their experiences at the Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026.

Agricultural innovation and entrepreneurship can open new avenues of income for farmers, as the journeys of three successful entrepreneurs demonstrate. While one woman started making pickles with just Rs 500 and went on to build a business worth crores, another entrepreneur expanded his fish farming operations from five acres to nearly 300 acres.A farmer from Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, experimented with alternative fertilisers to improve potato production.

The three entrepreneurs shared their experiences at the India Today Group's 'Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026', highlighting how innovation and value addition can transform traditional farming into profitable ventures.Starting a successful business does not always require substantial capital. Krishna Yadav, an agricultural entrepreneur from Haryana, is an example of how determination and innovation can help build a thriving enterprise despite limited resources.Once forced to sell vegetables by the roadside to support her family, Yadav now runs 'Shri Krishna Pickles', a brand that produces more than 250 products, including pickles, chutneys and preserves.

Her business reportedly has an annual turnover of over Rs 5 crore. Yadav said she initially managed household responsibilities after marriage while her husband worked in a job.

However, meeting household expenses and paying for their children's education became difficult. Her husband purchased a vehicle to start his own business, but the decision resulted in financial losses for the family.

Concerned about her children's future, Yadav decided to find a way to earn money herself.After her husband moved to Delhi, the family leased agricultural land and started growing vegetables. However, they struggled to get good prices for their produce in the market.

Despite their hard work, they often had to sell vegetables at low rates. This prompted Yadav to explore ways to add value to their agricultural produce.

She recalled the pickles made by her grandmother using carrots, cauliflower and other vegetables. This gave her the idea of preparing pickles from vegetables grown on their farm and selling them in the market.Her initial attempts to make pickles at home did not produce the desired results.

She subsequently approached a nearby Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and received training in pickle-making and fruit and vegetable processing. After completing the training, she started her business with around five kilograms of pickles.

She launched the venture in 2002 and gradually developed it into the 'Shri Krishna Pickles' brand.Today, the brand offers more than 250 varieties of food products. Yadav has also brought other women from her village into the business, providing them with employment opportunities and helping them become financially independent.

In recognition of her contribution to women's entrepreneurship, she has also received the Nari Shakti Puraskar.FROM FIVE ACRES TO A 300-ACRE FISH FARMING BUSINESSSultan Singh from Sultanpur village in Karnal, Haryana, turned fish farming into a major business venture. He entered the sector at a time when commercial fish farming in ponds and agricultural fields was relatively uncommon in North India.Singh began his journey in 1982 by renting four to five ponds in his village.

At the time, the rent for individual ponds ranged from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000. According to him, those same ponds are now worth between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 60 lakh.In 1983, he expanded into fish breeding and started producing fish seeds.

For this, he needed five acres of land belonging to his father. However, his father initially opposed the idea, fearing that digging up the agricultural land to construct ponds would damage it and jeopardise the future of the family's children.

After considerable persuasion, Singh managed to convince him and received the land to start his venture.According to Singh, his fish farming and fish seed production business now covers nearly 300 acres. He produces seeds of 14 varieties of fish and supplies them to several states, including Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, as well as other parts of North India.His enterprise has also created employment and business opportunities for around 300 to 400 people.Singh has shared his experience with aspiring fish farmers across the country.

He has trained approximately 25,000 people in fish farming so far. For his contribution to the sector, he received the Padma Shri in 2019.His journey demonstrates how farmers can diversify their agricultural activities by taking up fish farming and developing additional sources of income.FARMER EXPERIMENTS WITH FERTILISERS TO IMPROVE POTATO PRODUCTIONSatpal Singh, a farmer from Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district, has been cultivating potatoes for nearly 36 years.

For a long time, he relied on conventional fertilisers such as DAP, NPK and urea. However, in his effort to improve crop yields, he decided to experiment with alternative fertilisers.Sharing his farming experience at the 'Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026', Singh said he started using fertilisers manufactured by Mahadhan around five years ago.

These included 9:24:24 NPK and super phosphate fertiliser. He said the change helped improve both potato production and crop quality.According to Singh, he now harvests 10 to 12 additional sacks of potatoes per bigha compared with his earlier yields.

He said the fertilisers help maintain the green colour of plants for a longer period and increase the number of potato tubers growing underground.He also reported improvements in the size and colour of the potatoes, which, according to him, have helped the produce fetch better prices in the market.Comparing the new fertilisers with those he used earlier, Singh said some conventional fertilisers would remain visible on the surface of the field, while the Mahadhan products mixed well with the soil.He believes that using the right fertilisers and adopting new farming practices can help farmers improve both crop productivity and produce quality.The three journeys shared at the conference highlight different ways of making agriculture more rewarding, from processing farm produce into marketable products and expanding into fish farming to experimenting with fertilisers to improve crop yields.- Ends