Noida: An opportunity to visit South Korea for work purposes resulted in establishing his own farming business. Ramesh Gera is a 64-year-old retired engineer from Noida. In the year 2002, he went to South Korea on a business trip and returned with immense knowledge of advanced farming techniques.

During his 6-month stay, he learned about hydroponic farming, microgreens and indoor saffron cultivation. After getting retired from his work in 2017, he devoted all his time to farming and today he cultivates saffron in 100 square feet of land in Noida. 

Who is Ramesh Gera?

Ramesh Gera is a resident of Hisar, Haryana. He did electrical engineering in 1980. He spent his working life quite peacefully. In 2017, his wife passed away due to serious health issues. His son lives in Australia and his daughter works in Mumbai. Post his retirement, Ramesh had plenty of free time on his hands; he experimented with advanced farming and utilized the knowledge he had gained decades ago. 

In his research, he found that only Kashmir has a suitable weather for the growth of saffron. A large amount of saffron is imported from Iran, one of the largest producers of saffron. Ramesh decided to experiment growing saffron in a room in Noida. 

Blooming of flowers

Ramesh shares that he creates an artificial favourable climate for growing saffron in closed rooms; he calls these rooms greenhouses. He installs necessary equipment to produce the effect. Saffron seeds are bought from Kashmir and are cultivated in the greenhouses. It takes almost 3 months for the seeds to transform into flowers. Saffron is extracted from the flowers in the fourth month of the growth. 

Cost of indoor saffron cultivation

Ramesh Gera spent Rs 4 lakh in the construction of the green house; Rs 2 lakh were spent in obtaining saffron seeds from Kashmir. Adding up, a sum of Rs 6 lakh was invested in saffron farming. 

After gaining profit from the sales, Ramesh has started giving training to people to learn the methods of indoor cultivation of saffron. Ramesh shares that only one time investment is required in the beginning, apart from that one only needs to pay the electricity bills. His electricity bills cost around Rs 4500 a month and the labour costs are rounded up to Rs 8 thousand in a year. 

Quality of saffron

The saffron produced in the greenhouses can compete with the quality of Kashmir’s saffron brand Mogra. Apart from saffron, Ramesh Gera also cultivates exotic vegetables and flowers by using hydroponic farming techniques. He also grows 50 types of microgreens in his greenhouses. Presently, he sells one kilogram of saffron at Rs 2.40 lakh in the wholesale market whereas the price increases up to Rs 3.50 lakh per kg in the retail market.