While studying in the UK, Harshit Godha was very much into health and fitness. He used to eat avocados there as a part of his daily diet. He recalls, “Whenever I came back to India during holidays, I was disappointed by the quality of avocados I got in Bhopal. That’s when it occurred to me that it is an interesting business opportunity that I can look into.” That’s how the idea of Indo Israel Avocado was born.
Why Israel?
One day when Harshit purchased avocados in the UK, he noticed that the packaging said, ‘Sourced from Israel’. “I figured, Israel has hot climatic conditions, so if it can grow there, maybe it can work in India too. After doing more research, I realised that Israel has unique ways of tackling heat by managing irrigation. I started contacting avocado industry experts in Israel, packing houses, farmers etc and asked them if I can come and visit Israel and learn from them,” shares Harshit.
One of the farmers in Israel replied enthusiastically and agreed to host Harshit. So he quit his internship in London, and went to Israel. There he met his mentor and lived in his village for a month. He learnt about avocado farming, met irrigation experts from Netafim, visited packhouses and networked with avocado nursery owners.
Then Harshit returned to India and invited them to visit his home town, Bhopal and showed them the fields. After conducting water and soil tests, analysing climatic conditions here, they suggested he take up a pilot project on a small scale. He adds, “I was asked to scale up only when the results from the pilot project are positive. So we decided to do a pilot on 5 acres in Bhopal.”
Harshit imported the plants from Israel last month, to execute the pilot project. He has been documenting his journey on my website, his YouTube channel where he has uploaded 11 videos so far. and his Instagram, @indoisraelavocado.
In India, avocado or Alligator pear is not a commercial fruit crop. It was introduced from Sri Lanka in the early part of the twentieth century. In a very limited scale and in a scattered way it is grown in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka in the south-central India and in the eastern Himalayan state of Sikkim. It cannot tolerate the hot dry winds and frosts of northern India. Climatically, it is grown in tropical or semitropical areas experiencing some rainfall in summer, and in humid, subtropical summer rainfall areas. Hasrhit explains that it takes 3 years to produce the first yield, and after that it is every year, with some level of alternate bearing. Plants require standard fertilisers that are available in India. Dosage depends on the growth stage of the plant.
According to a FAO report, one of the important constraints in increasing avocado consumption appears to be consumer preference. In the domestic market the avocado may not be liked by the common people due to the nature of its taste and also due to availability of many other tropical fruits throughout the year which are more palatable than avocado. Nevertheless, due to increasing health consciousness among the educated population and the high nutritive value of avocado, it is expected to find its rightful place in the Indian market in due course. The successful introduction of avocado and its wide acceptance among the tribal population of the hilly state of Sikkim indicate that for household nutrition security avocado should be a potential fruit crop in India.
Harshit agrees, “There is a growing demand for avocados in Indian metro cities. Of course, it is not a staple yet, but people are becoming aware of the fruit because of its celebrity status on social media. Vegan and keto diets are on the rise, and when people google what to eat on such diets, avocados are almost always mentioned as a staple due to its high nutrient density. It helps in regulating hormones and improves heart health.”
Harshit is in touch with distributors who sell their produce pan India. He adds, “If things work out in my project, they are interested in buying my produce. Furthermore, the Vashi mandi in Mumbai and Azadpur mandi in Delhi are good options as well.”
Harshit says that he is not getting any govt support or subsidy. FAO reports that presently, there is no definite governmental plan to strengthen research and development of avocado in India. Research centres in Tamil Nadu and in Karnataka are maintaining some germplasm of avocado in their collections.
His future plans? “If my pilot works out, I plan to develop larger orchards, a commercial avocado plant nursery and packing houses.,” says Harshit.
