Bengaluru man leaves job to start agri-business in Bihar hometown, builds ₹2.5 crore empire from ₹1 lakh

Bengaluru man left a secure job to return to his hometown to start agri-business. The founder of AGRATE, Prince Shukla, who grew up in Bihar's Purnia decided to take a different route, a marked departure from the lust of metropolitan cities, he turned to the countryside.

While many mocked his unconventional move, he was determined to do things differently and excel by uplifting the formers around him. He founded the Agri-tech company in December 2021 at the age of 24.

In the early days, Prince was labelled as “dehati”, he faced scepticism, financial strain and countless other obstacles but he believed in his ambition that farming deserved dignity and innovation. Determined and undeterred by the talk of the town, he worked hard until his efforts bore fruit. Reflecting on the decisions he made, he said, “People used to call me a fool... when I chose farming,” Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre reported.

He secured BSc and MSc degrees in Agriculture and returned to the fields to work directly with farmers. AGRATE's LinkedIn profile describes it as a company “committed to empowering small-scale farmers in India by providing them with accessible and affordable farming solutions. The company understands the challenges faced by small-scale farmers, who often lack the resources and technology necessary to increase their crop yields and profitability.”

As per the profile, Prince Shukla's venture addresses several farmer centric issues and offers a range of products and services, such as high-quality seeds, efficient irrigation systems, eco-friendly fertilizers and pesticides at affordable prices.

He made modest beginning with ₹1 lakh borrowed from his father. With a definite vision in mind, he set off his business by supplying quality seeds, organic fertilisers, irrigation tools, and training in grafting and multi-cropping. The results took years to come but when they did his business scaled to ₹2.5 crore turnover.

The startup made zero revenue in fiscal year 2022. Despite limited communication skills, lack of business exposure and other setbacks, Prince continued to work carve a niche in the domain that remained unexplored. The first breakthrough in his business came in FY23. With modest turnover of ₹3 lakh in 2023, his business grew by record 49 times in the following two years. It scaled to Rs. 1.5 crore turnover by FY25 through FPO partnerships, diversified projects and on-groundwork.

Speaking with Startup Pedia, Prince said, “Farmers didn't trust me initially because I looked young. Instead of targeting individual farmers, I started targeting FPOs, Farmer-Producer Organisations. I spoke with their CEOs and directors.”

Currently, AGRATE generates ₹2.5 crore in annual revenue and works with 10,000+ farmers across 38 districts in Bihar and Odisha. From makhana cultivation and grading to mushroom farming, this company of his works on crop diversification, infrastructure, processing, and packaging.