Harshit Godha, a 28-year-old young man from Bhopal, struck a balance between pursuing his BBA degree in London from University of Bath along with internship between 2013-20.
While buying avocados, he became curious reading a label ‘Sourced from Israel’ on the back of a packet. He learned about Indo-Israel Avocado Farming.
At the age of 22, Harshit abruptly left his internship to travel around the world to expand his knowledge about Israel’s innovative avocado agriculture. In Israel, some refused to teach him, and others demanded huge money.
One person agreed to guide him and even arranged for accommodation and food for him in an Israeli village.
Harshit went there and stayed for one and a half months. He worked in the fields from 5 AM to 10 AM in the morning hours as the scorching sun in the afternoon was unbearable. Later, Harshit learned and gained sufficient knowledge about specialized avocado cultivation techniques.
Harshit’s Return to London with Revolutionary Ideas
After returning to London, Harshit concentrated on completing his education. However, his entrepreneurial spirit remained ignited by his revolutionary ideas he observed during his experiences abroad.
After obtaining his degree, Harshit’s journey brought him back to India with a vision of avocado agriculture. By leveraging the advanced practices learned, he introduced a new avocado variety tailored for the Indian market and local climate.
Most importantly, his main goal was to make this superfruit accessible to all consumers.
Meanwhile, after returning to India in 2019, Harshit used his knowledge and passion. He started his agriculture business named Indo-Israel Avocado to grow avocados in Bhopal.
He also invited some brilliant Agri-experts from Israel to check if Indian land soil and climate. To know that the soil and climate are suitable or not for the cultivation of avocados.
He invited experts from Israel to see if the Indian land and climate were suitable for avocados.
The Delays in Dreams
By investing around Rs 5 lakhs, he made a productive farm on 5-acre barren land with polyhouse and hydroponic system. But it was hard to find high-quality avocado plants in India. He decided to import various varieties, suitable for local climate, from Israel in 2019.
But he couldn’t get permissions to plant Israel avocado plants until 2021 due to government delays and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He received his first shipment of avocado plants from Israel, which he planted in his orchards in 2023. Before that, the plants were kept in the nursery and the plants started bearing fruit after 14 months of planting.
For Irrigation, Harshit used the Israel imported Netafim drip irrigation system and UniRam (a method that supply plants with fertilizers through the irrigation system).
Despite these setbacks, Harshit stayed focused on his dream. He also shared his avocado farming journey on social media, which attracted the attention of many interested farmers across India.
His work was featured on websites such as Fresh Plaza, Israel Agri and Fresh Fruit Portal.
Harshit later started blogging, wrote an amazing and informative e-book called ‘7 Things to Consider for Cultivating Avocados’. Later, he created a YouTube channel to share his knowledge online.
This initiative helped him to create a community of innovative people and proved Harshit’s expertise in Indo-Israel avocados.
Harshit video content guided famers through every step of avocado farming—from preparing the land to planting and fertilizing.
He doesn’t just sell avocado plants; he also offers free advice and guidance to farmers from planting to harvest who bought avocados from him.
Harshit Godha is not only advancing Indo-Israel Avocados farming in India but also inspiring future brilliant Agri-entrepreneurs and farmers with a good annual revenue of Rs 1 crore from plant sales and his future plans include expanding his orchard to 100 acres.
How are Indo-Israel Avocados special?
To grow avocado trees, the best quality rootstocks and plants are needed. If your rootstock is not correct, then the yield of your plant will not be viable. Usually, only 1 acre can easily fit 170 trees. Avocado trees can grow wide and large, so the high density of planting is not possible. Medium-density planting with smaller trees is preferred to get more plants per acre.
The rootstocks which were developed over 60 years ago in Israel, can easily tolerate drought, resist soil diseases and produce high yields.
Why Are Indo-Israel Avocados Expensive in India?
In FY24, India had imported avocados priced at $13.5 million, mainly from Tanzania, Australia and New Zealand nearly doubling from the previous year. Harshit’s business challenges the high cost of avocados in India.
In the past three years, avocado imports in India have increased by approximately 400%. Harshit’s innovative dream of India producing its own high-quality avocados, reducing dependence on costly imports and building a sustainable domestic supply is bearing fruits now.
Mallika Sadhu is a journalist committed to revealing the raw, unfiltered truth. Mallika's work is grounded in a dedication to transparency and integrity, aiming to present clear and impactful stories that matter. Through comprehensive reporting and honest storytelling, she strives to contribute to provide narratives that genuinely inform and engage. When not dwelling in the world of journalism, she is immersed in the colors of her canvas and pages of her journal.
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