What if the secret to earning more from farmland was not buying more land, but making every available patch work harder? For Manpreet Singh, a 34-year-old farmer from Rahim Ke Uttar village in Punjab’s Ferozepur district, this question has shaped an increasingly diversified agricultural business.In 2020, Singh began raising onion seedlings on just 10 marlas of land. The experiment gradually expanded into a nursery enterprise serving around 250 customers, alongside vegetable cultivation, paddy and Basmati nurseries, short-duration crops and dairy farming. He estimates that his approach can generate ₹6 lakh to ₹7 lakh per acre annually, although actual returns depend on crop performance, input costs, weather and market prices, according to Kisaan of India. His five-acre farm is organised around a practical idea: different crops need different amounts of time, and land that becomes available after one harvest can potentially support another productive cycle. Instead of relying on a single crop season, Singh plans his activities around the agricultural calendar.
From 10 marlas to a nursery serving hundreds
Singh’s journey into farming began long before his onion nursery. He started working alongside his father in 2007, when he was 15, as the family cultivated vegetables, wheat and paddy on leased land. He later completed a postgraduate degree in history and gained experience working in the courts. He also spent time in social work. According to The Indian Express, during 2015 and 2016, he was associated with a Nehru Yuva Kendra initiative focused on drug abuse awareness, earning ₹2,500 a month for a year as a volunteer. His move towards nursery cultivation began when he recognised an opportunity to supply farmers with ready-to-transplant seedlings. Raising healthy seedlings requires time, space and attention, so buying them can be a convenient option for cultivators who want to concentrate on preparing their fields and managing their crops.Starting small allowed Singh to test the idea without committing to a large area immediately. His onion nursery grew from 10 marlas to one kanal, then two and four kanals as demand increased. He subsequently diversified into seedlings of onion, garlic, cauliflower, chillies, capsicum, pumpkin, bottle gourd, bitter gourd and cucumber. Today, he supplies around 250 customers, mainly farmers seeking seedlings for their own fields. The business demonstrates how agricultural services can become an income source alongside the cultivation of crops for sale.
A calendar that keeps the land productive
Singh’s strategy depends on matching each crop to the period in which it can grow. Vegetable nurseries are generally raised during suitable seasonal windows, with low tunnels used to provide protection when required. Many vegetable seedlings are ready for transplanting in around 30 to 35 days, while onion seedlings typically take 60 to 70 days, depending on growing conditions and variety. After seedlings are sold, the land can be prepared for another use. Vegetable crops themselves may take approximately two and a half to four months to mature, so Singh considers crop duration when deciding what to plant next. A second nursery season begins around July and August and continues into December.Paddy and Basmati nurseries form another major part of his operation. He reportedly allocates around 2.25 acres to nursery production, raising seedlings from 15 to 16 varieties. By using the same land for successive nursery cycles, he says the area used for nursery production during the paddy season effectively reaches about 4.5 acres across those cycles. The seedlings supply farmers cultivating an estimated 400 to 600 acres. After nursery production, Singh uses the land for short-duration paddy or Basmati cultivation where the crop calendar and conditions permit.His calculations illustrate why he favours nursery production. He estimates expenditure of around ₹700 per marla and sales of approximately ₹1,500 per marla, leaving a difference of ₹800 per marla per cycle before considering any costs not included in those estimates. He puts the returns from repeated nursery cycles at about ₹2.25 lakh per acre, with another ₹60,000 to ₹65,000 potentially coming from subsequent short-duration paddy or Basmati cultivation. These are his estimates, not guaranteed returns. The outcome can vary with seedling demand, labour expenses, crop losses and local prices.
Diversification brings more than one source of income
Nursery production is only one part of Singh’s farming model. He cultivates garlic on one acre and grows sugarcane for jaggery production as well as for raising seedlings. He also uses shorter-duration crops to make use of land between other planting windows. Cucumber is one example. Singh estimates that three kanals can generate ₹70,000 to ₹80,000 after expenses over a crop cycle lasting around 70 to 80 days. Garlic can offer higher returns when prices are favourable, though earnings may fluctuate considerably from season to season. “We plan almost the entire year. We use the land whenever it becomes available and choose a crop suitable for that period, while ensuring that the land gets some rest between cycles,” he says.The farm also supports a dairy enterprise with approximately 10 to 12 Murrah buffaloes, which Singh values at ₹25 lakh to ₹30 lakh. Around 12 people work in his operations, including three permanent workers, while additional labour is brought in when needed. Drip irrigation is used on most of the land to help manage water use. His approach has earned recognition from Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, where he received the Sardar Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Award, according to the information provided.
The bigger lesson behind his farming model
Singh’s experience offers a different way to think about agricultural profitability. Land size matters, but so do crop selection, timing, access to buyers and the ability to manage several activities without letting costs overtake returns. His model also carries practical demands. Nurseries require healthy planting material and reliable customers, while overlapping crop cycles need careful planning, labour and water management. A crop that appears profitable on paper may deliver a different result when prices fall or weather disrupts production.Singh’s next ambition is to double the income generated from the same land by adopting newer farming techniques. Whether he achieves that target will depend on how successfully he balances expansion with costs and market demand. For now, his journey from a small onion nursery to a diversified farm highlights a useful principle for aspiring growers: before looking for more land, examine how effectively the land already available can be used. Thoughtful planning can create opportunities, but sustainable returns come from combining that planning with sound farming practices and realistic financial calculations.Disclaimer: The Times of India has not independently verified the claims made in this article and does not endorse them.
