India: Leaving studies behind to create a mushroom business -

When the Covid-19 pandemic brought their studies abroad to a halt, Ayush Gupta and Rishabh Gupta decided to try something completely different. The two brothers from Agra returned to India and entered the farming business, choosing mushrooms as their first big venture. Ayush was studying BBA in London, while Rishabh was in Dubai when the pandemic turned the world upside down. By the end of 2020, both brothers decided they would not go back abroad and would instead start something of their own.

The idea of farming came from their family. Their father and grandfather had always been interested in agriculture. “When we were young, my father even tried his hand at polyhouse farming but was not able to take it through. Since then, my brother and I have been interested in the field,” Ayush told The Better India.

With their father’s support, the brothers used their savings and took a loan to start a polyhouse farm in Agra. They also received a 40% government subsidy for the project. Their first crop was English cucumber. After getting their first harvest, they started growing more vegetables and slowly expanded the farm.

They soon started exploring mushroom farming. Ayush already had some experience with mushrooms from a small business he had started in Delhi several years earlier. He had then bought mushrooms from farmers, packed them and sold them.