Investment on agriculture lands protects investor and mitigates from other investments risk, many High Net Worth Individuals are adding agriculture lands in their Investment Portfolio.

Raichur Highway which is National Highway 167 becoming prominent for short period investments among rural investors.  NH167starts at terminal Kodad, Telangana, ends at terminal Ballari, Karnataka via Raichur.

National Highway 167 and state irrigation projects paved ways for development and raise in land prices from Kodad via Kalwakurthy  via Jedcharla via Mahabubnagar via Marikal to Makthal.

Agriculture lands between Mahabubnagar to Makthal are very fertile with different soil types red variants and black variants. From last six years huge infrastructure development works and irrigation project works are going on in this area.

Distance between Hyderabad and Mahabubnagar reduced due to best roads connectivity, various industrial developments, real estate, educational institutions and various state government integrated buildings.  

Many Rural investors become successful by investing on agriculture lands in Kodad, Huzurnagar, Miryalaguda, Haliya and Kalwakurthy areas which are on NH167 from 2015 to 2021.

Krishna river flows through these areas. Koil Sadar dam is located at Koilsagar village, Deverakadra Mandal. 13km from Devarakadra, NH167.

Manemkonda Venkateshwara Swamy temple is famous in this area. 

Mini Airport sanctioned near Devarakadra town.

Atmakur  sugar factory is 40km from NH167 Bandarpally, Lalkota cross road and Jaklair towns. 

Kurumurthy Rayudu(Sri Venkateshwara Swami) temple located at Ammapuram, Chinna chinta kunta Mandal, 25 km from NH167, Bandarapally.

Narayanpet district headquarters is 40 km from NH167, Marikal.

Jurala Dam is 10km from Kurvapur village between Atmakur and Gadwal towns.  This is a famous tourism place.

Mission Kakatiya and many irrigation projects provided water to the agricultural lands in these areas and led to flourish with many crops.

Rice, cotton, Jowar, maize, groundnut are major grown crops in Mahabubnagar, Devarakadra, Bandarapally, Lalkota and Marikal.

Farmers are cultivating Palm oil majorly in Marikal and Yeligandla. Mango, Orange and other fruits gardens are majorly grown in Makthal and Magnur surroundings.

Magnur is the last town in Telangana on Raichur Highway, nearer to Karnataka border.

NH167, Raichur highway is parallel road to NH44 Bengaluru Highway, NH163 Kodangal to Chhattisgarh Highway and connects with NH150, NH150A, NH67.

Till 2016 land rates are low in these areas compared with rest of the Telangana lands, after NH167 completion and news of four lane road sanction made land prices hike. Still there is huge scope for investors who missed Golden Period from 2002 to 2016, to invest on agriculture lands from Devarakadra to Magnur and much possibility to gain appreciation in short period.

Some of the major soil types and crops grown:

Red Soils: Red soils are the most dominant soil type in Telangana. They are formed from weathered crystalline rocks and are characterized by their reddish color. Red soils are generally rich in iron oxide and have good drainage properties.

They are suitable for growing a wide range of crops, including cotton, red gram (pigeon pea), groundnut, millets, sunflower, and vegetables.

Black Soils (Regur Soils): Black soils, also known as regur soils or black cotton soils, are clayey soils found in the region. They have a high moisture retention capacity and are rich in minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron.

 Black soils are highly fertile and suitable for growing crops such as cotton, sorghum, maize, groundnut, soybean, and pulses.

Alluvial Soils: Alluvial soils are found in the river valleys and delta regions of Telangana. They are formed by the deposition of sediments carried by rivers and are generally fertile.

Alluvial soils have good water-retaining capacity and are suitable for growing paddy (rice), sugarcane, maize, pulses, and vegetables.

Sandy Soils: Sandy soils are found in the drier regions of Telangana, particularly in the northern parts. They have a coarse texture and low water-holding capacity.

Sandy soils are suitable for growing crops such as groundnut, millets (like jowar and bajra), castor, and vegetables that can tolerate drought conditions.

Laterite Soils: Laterite soils are found in certain hilly areas of Telangana. They are formed by the weathering of rocks in humid tropical regions and are characterized by their reddish-brown color and high iron content.

Laterite soils are generally less fertile but can support the cultivation of certain crops like cashew, coconut, oilseeds, and spices.

It’s important to note that the choice of crops grown in these soils depends not only on soil types but also on other factors like climate, water availability, and market demand

                             Red sandalwood tree is a native to India and is mostly found in southern parts. Well-drained red soils are mainly suitable for cultivation. It is a fast growing crop. The best time for planting is onset of rainy season. Drip irrigation is recommended. During initial year of planting irrigation is given 10-15days interval and care should be taken. Spacing is 10*10 or 12*12 or 14*14 are recommended. In between the space of Red sandalwood trees, intercropping can be done as a source of present income. Yielding time of red sandalwood is more than 15years. Quality of heartwood depends upon time of harvesting (late harvesting leads to good quality). It is deep red in colour. Red sandalwood has huge demand. Farmers can get more profitable income if they invest in cultivating Red sandalwood.

                                  Red sandalwood has medicinal and commercial value. Heartwood of Red sandalwood is used in medicines and is used in treatment of digestive track problems, fluid retention and coughs. It is used in blood purification. It is also used as flavouring agent in alcoholic beverages. Red sandalwood is used in manufacturing of furniture, woodcrafts and musical instruments. It can perfectly cure many skin problems. In Ayurvedic, Red sandalwood is used to treat eye disorders.

                Price of Red sandalwood:1kg of Heartwood cost is Rs.9000 to Rs.9500.

                      It is blessed Telangana areas are most suitable for WHITE SANDALWOOD and RED SANDALWOOD cultivation.

                  Before harvesting (cutting) of White sandalwood and Red sandalwood permission should be taken from FOREST DEPARTMENT and to be certified by REVENUE DEPARTMENT. Forest department issues tenders to sell sandalwood and with forest department permission FARMERS can also sell directly to the certified buyers or to manufacturing industries like soap, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals etc.

                     Farmers can get short term income on pulses, vegetables, fruits etc and long -term income from sandalwood trees.

                      In Telangana more farmers are opting to these commercial trees, cultivating in a systematic way and becoming more successful.

    Sandalwood farming is school of patience we should wait patiently to receive more money.

SANDALWOOD CULTIVATION IS THE BEST WAY FOR THE CREATION OF WEALTH. IT ULTIMATELY GIVES FARMERS MOST REAL FORM OF HAPPINESS.            LET’S START CULTIVATING SANDALWOOD, EXPECTED INCOME MAY BE TOO LATE BUT SURE IN GETTING HUGE PROFITS AND BECOMING RICH.

SRI GHANDHAM (WHITE SANDALWOOD)

Sri Gandham (White sandalwood-Santalum album) and Yerra Chandhanam (Red sandalwood-Pterocarpus santalinus) are being used from centuries. These trees have cultural, commercial and medicinal importance. Every part of sandalwood trees (heartwood-centre of tree trunk; root; leaves etc) are having commercial value and have great demand. It is proven fact that cultivation of White sandalwood and Red sandalwood makes farmers super rich due to its high demand. This is the best long -term investment, with tremendous returns. These are one of the world’s most valuable commercial crops.

             Fragrant sandalwood has excellent market value and farmers can get high income. White sandalwood is a partial root parasitic plant, so it derives its nutritional requirement from other plants i.e., Host plant/supporting plant. Farmers can buy sandalwood plants from INSTITUTE OF WOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [INDIAN COUNCIL OF FORESTRY RESEARCH& EDUCATION, BANGALORE] (or) from certified nurseries. While planting sandalwood plants spacing (12*12;14*14 are highly recommended spacing) is of main importance in order to get high yield. Along with sandalwood plants, host plants should be planted so that sandalwood plants can take nutrients from host plants. Sesbania, casuarina, pigeon pea, guava, citrus sps, pomegranate, mango etc are used as host plants. It gives better yield when it is cultivated by using organic method. ’DRIP IRRIGATION’ method is mostly suggested. With in the space between White sandalwood trees inter cropping can be done. Pulses like pigeon pea; vegetables like Tomato, chilli, leafy vegetables etc; fruits like citrus sps, pomegranate, guava, mango etc; flowers like chrysanthemum, rose etc can be grown between sandalwood plants. So that farmer can get continuous income (from inter crop-present income; from sandalwood-future income). Major pest attack during cultivation is ‘STEM BORER’. Management practices to reduce stem borer attack is application of lime and copper sulphate to the stem of tree (or) injecting monocrotophos or chlorpyrifos to stem. Care should be taken for 1 to 2 years after planting. Yielding time is more than 15years.Sandalwood cultivation is more profitable than any other investments. After harvesting of White sandalwood, farmer can receive minimum ‘1lakh’of profit from each tree.

                     Heartwood in Indian sandalwood  has great fragnant value. Heartwood and roots of Sandalwood contains Sandal oil. Sandal powder is used in health and beauty incentives. Sandal oil is used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, aromatherapy, soap industry and in making perfumes. It works as antinflamatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic agent. White sandalwood is used in religious rituals and in making furnitures, carvings.

               ‘ SANDALWOOD OIL HAS  FOREVER DEMAND.’

                Price of white sandalwood: 1kg of Heartwood cost is

            Rs.7,000 to Rs.9,000.

                 LET’S INVEST ON SANDALWOOD CULTIVATION AND LEAD A LUXURIOUS LIFE.

The level of farm mechanization in India stands at about 40-45% with states such as UP, Haryana and Punjab having very high mechanization levels, but north-eastern states having negligible mechanization. This level of farm mechanization is still low as compared to the countries such as the U. S. (95 %), Brazil (75%) and China (57%). While the level of mechanization lags behind other developed countries, it has seen an average agriculture growth rate of 3.56 % through the last decade.

According to Economic Survey, Farm mechanization and crop productivity has a direct correlation as farm mechanization saves time and labor, reduces drudgery, cut down production cost in the long run, reduces post-harvest losses and boosts crop output and farm income. Use of improved implements has potential to increase productivity up to 30 per cent and reduce the cost of cultivation up to 20 per cent.

At present, Indian farmers are adopting farm mechanization at a faster rate in comparison to recent past. Although, the sale of tractors in India cannot be taken as the only measure of farm mechanization but to a great extent it reflects the level of mechanization. Indian tractor industries have emerged as the largest in the world and account for about one-third of total global tractor production. According to the World Bank estimates, half of the Indian population would be urban by the year 2050.

Availability of Farm Power

Average farm power availability for the cultivated areas of the country has been increased from 0.295 kW/ha in 1971-72 to 2.02 kW/ha in 2016-17.The share of power from tractor in the total farm power is increasing substantially. Further, share of electric motor is also increasing. But, share of animate power and draught animal power is decreasing in the total farm power. There is a linear relationship between availability of farm power and farm yield. Therefore, there is a need to increase the availability of farm power from 2.02 kW per ha (2016-17) to 4.0 kW per ha by the end of 2030 to cope up with increasing demand of food grains

Share of farm mechanization in farming operations

The penetration of powered machines in various farm activities is assessed in the range of 40 to 45 per cent. Share of mechanization of field activities in 2016-17

When a child is born, they have to be fed the milk of the mother. Have you ever thought about how milk fuelled within the body of a mother? The mother is already dependent on the edible products produced in the fields, she feeds on them, and her body responds to produce nectar to acclaim the survival of her child.

This is why we people need food and sustain our existence on this holy land, which is proven why agriculture falls in the category of the primary sector. Primary sectors comprise those things which are of the utmost value for human survival on the earth. 

The need for cultivation reflects in most ancient times

In the Pleistocene era, before the invention of fire and the wheel, no knowledge of feeding the young ones. Nobody acknowledged the ancestors of today’s humankind of cultivation.

During the Holocene period, when there had been the evolution of Homo sapiens, the current gene of humankind, there was a need to have a settled life due to extreme phenomenal changes in the climate. So the nomadic culture shifted to settle one, and the domestication of cattle had started. 

This taming of creatures and reconciliation of large groups boosted the demand for food, and thus, the phenomena of creating food were adopted known as Agriculture today. Now, no one can deny the concept of embracing and holding the idea of agriculture as it is the legacy of our ancestors.

The need for cultivation also determines the regions where agriculture is not possible at large means. Its existence substantiates its performance by the fact that; it works for all the countries whether their regions are favorable for it or not.    

Besides the countries like Bahamas, Singapore, Greenland, etc., which are with least agricultural performance, agriculture is still considered as the most appropriate mechanism to produce food in the global scenario.

About our homeland

Agriculture concerning our country, India, has been working in the progressive approach. In the 21st century, agro scientists are experimenting with various technological impulses, which are proven to be helpful in the mass production of food grains. 

The regulations are being made to give a boost to the progressive farmers cultivating Mixed/multiple crops. 

The agricultural policies of India are much viable and working for the modernization of its agrarian programs through various security plans for the people who are solely dependent on it. Unfortunately, many developed countries are passing their hands in this direction. 

For example, recently, Israel is helping out in making the center for excellence to promote advanced agricultural resources, research, and training. 

How agriculture is felicitating the careers 

No industry in the world can give the same results as the amount was invested in it. Therefore, there is a need for more investments and attainment of less production comparatively in all factories. 

Perhaps, the dilemma of the hour is all governments consider industry over agriculture, but a conscious belief must be in favor of agriculture as the biggest industry.

It all begins with a farmer sowing a seed of a fruit and being ripened; a single seed produces several hundred or even thousands of fruits bearing seeds. This is how the integrity of calling it a massive industrial unit gets proven. 

It means agriculture is the sector where one needs to invest a few, and in return, he enjoys the maximum outputs in the form of monetary benefits. 

When the agriculture season started, farmers usually start taking cattle manure to fields in June last week. Already first rains came, monsoons came. With this season, works start from the fields to the hands of the tertiary consumers. 

After that, usually from July second week agriculture season starts for Paddy, Sugarcane, Maize and Chilly in full fledge. In southern parts of India, these types of grains and cereals are cultivated in Telangana, and Andhra starts to grow. 

‘How to get success in agriculture sector? This is the question asked by many budding entrepreneurs who want to invest their life in agricultural activities. So new generation farmers should get educated, and this move is also encouraging for those who left their techies-related job. 

Let us know how this interest of youngsters can be alleviated and empowered their moves in agricultural activities.

• Consult a start-up company that can give you the right solution by data and technology. The company is responsible for providing you the proper knowledge of agricultural practices in advice and solutions.
• Farmers have basic problems dealing with fertilizers and irrigation, which can be resolved by expert advice. 
• A budding farmer can learn about using fertilizers, micronutrients, biofertilizers, Biopesticide, agrochemicals, PGR, and plant hormones. Youth can invest their technical minds in accelerating the new generation making agriculture a profitable profession.
• You can directly get indulged in the final dealing for your prediction without the presence of a mediocre or a broker. You can straightforwardly approach the grocery stores or supermarkets. This will eliminate the benefits to intermediaries and farmers who get direct income in their hands. 
• An integrated solution is required to access the full knowledge of farm machinery and enforce the impulsive need for organic farming. Stress must abide by the evident desire to get involved in organic farming and its importance for environmental sustainability. 
• New farmers should carry forward sustainable farming with minding the soil fertility and water resources availability.  
• Due to extensive demand in food styles, there is a need for more land for production. The land rates appreciated 100 times in some areas, 50 times, and 25times in different areas from 2000 to 2021, though this is challenging a great opportunity for aspiring farmers.    

Inference

Although the new agricultural practices are being implemented to accelerate production power since the land is limited and the natural resources are not in the adequate amount, we need to go with technical mindsets.  The new generation can bring the efforts to make agriculture a more profitable profession, and we could feel proud to contribute to the food bowl across all parts of India. 

Connect with Nature

Waking up with birds chirping, the melodious morning showers, and fresh unpolluted air is no longer a dream. Just sit back and relax. It is a place where you can take a break from your daily grind and spend time with your dear ones or with yourself. Inhale fresh and pure oxygen and keep your respiratory systems intact and healthy.

We all need to live a higher quality of life. Even if you are retiring or surviving a rat race, the farmland will be your distinctive retreat. Conservation has become a topic of conversation. Owning a second home has the advantage of letting you do so. With its open-wide spaces and green fields, you have the ease to preserve the ecosystem and doing your bit to save the environment.

Investing in farmland is a recession-proof investment. Since India’s population is growing and we cannot create more land. No matter how bad a recession hits, people can’t stop relying on food. Due to the mismatch of demand and supply, the prices of agricultural commodities will keep on increasing. Thus, it is one crucial reason why you can invest in agricultural land.

Stable Agri-Income through Farming 

Starting organic farming in your farmland to create a high income is not as challenging now as it was decades ago. Cultivating crops that have high value can give you good profits. Also, the revenue generated is tax-free as it is agricultural income. If you have entrepreneurship qualities and interests, farmland can be a potential source of income. With modern farming techniques such as hydroponics, vertical farming, organic farming, you can have a steady supplemental income. You can go further by cultivating exotic fruits and vegetables, which you can sell domestically and even export. The possibilities are endless. Do not limit your vision of a farm with old cattle and a poor Indian farmer toiling in the sun. Modern farming methods, which may seem alien in India now, are the future of agriculture, and sooner or later, farmers will have to adapt to them. 

Buying agricultural land and a community farming lifestyle is becoming more and more popular among the urban audience. Purchasers must understand that investing in agricultural land is a long-term investment. Return on investment can fluctuate from 12 months to 3 years before generating capital gains.

We are living in a crowded society with a population exploding exponentially. Living in the cities has become extremely expensive, and we live in matchbox-like flats without proper ventilation. We are fast losing our connection with nature. City living comes with the gift of air, water, and noise pollution to the highest degree and ever-increasing crime rates. Busy towns or cities are crowded, and you feel more stressed. Property prices have gone off the roof. Flats and smaller apartments are being built instead of houses with more extensive gardens to maximize space. There are often fewer green spaces, and you may not always be able to enjoy natural areas. All these factors are damaging to our health in the long term. Every day when you wake up in the morning, you have this feeling of running away from the hustle-bustle. After a weeklong work, you are craving ways to relax and rejuvenate with nature. Sometimes you feel like doing nothing, just watching the surroundings and their serene beauty.

We are becoming increasingly aware of maintaining a harmonious work-life balance. One such option that has gained traction in recent years is to invest in land in remote areas away from city turmoil or simply farmlands. The penetration of holiday homes and demand for farmhouses near metropolitan cities has increased over the years as families are now engaging in nature & leisure activities.

Wealth Creation 

As an intelligent investor, you are always looking for newer opportunities to diversify, grow, and protect your investments. You have considered multiple options such as real estate, equity market, mutual funds, bonds, FD, and various other options to accomplish your goal.

Investing in farmland or agricultural plots is largely ignored by investors as they are not aware of the benefits of investing in them. Farmlands are one of the essential assets in the world. When we consider the population expected to grow at an unprecedented pace, the food demand will skyrocket. In such a scenario, even farmers are under pressure to produce more in less land. This has led to the development of new farming techniques like vertical farming and hydroponics. A few years back, celebrities had monopolized buying farmlands and developing them. With easing restrictions and raised interests, investments in farmland are one such realistic option which you should consider. An investment in farmland is backed by a rock-solid asset that is unlikely to depreciate. The past few years of statistics show that farmland has demonstrated strong capital protection characteristics over long periods. Well-managed farmland is a fully renewable resource that remains productive till its sale.

The valuation of farmland increases much faster than inflation, making farmland investment an effective tool for countering inflation and capital preservation. Since these are early days, you can make a kill as the rates are much low. Compared with investing in commodity & precious metals, farmland also provides a regular income to the investor, making it a valuable replacement for lost risk-free income on cash deposits and bonds due to low interest rates. Investment in farmland delivers high returns. It offers both capital and operating returns in the form of a combination of rental income and value appreciation of the asset. As per the past data, total returns from farmland have constantly outpaced popular assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.

You must have heard the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in the same basket.” The saying holds particularly true for wealth creation and investing. Ask any financial planner, as the first thing he will ask you to go for portfolio diversification. Farmland returns have no direct connection with traditional asset classes such as stocks and bonds, resulting in no market risks. These features make farmland an attractive diversification tool that can help reduce the impact of market volatility. Additionally, there is a low fluctuation of income. Your investment is not governed by the market risk that comes with other investment tools. Your farmland investment can go up exponentially if the government decides to develop any highway near your farmlands. With the development of highway infrastructure that has picked up speed in the past few years, the chances are that you can make a fortune out there.

The real estate sector has been hard hit by the reverse migration of laborers and middle-class employees to their native places after the lockdown was clamped across the country. The sector is trying to catch up with the trend in the rural areas.

Telangana Agriculture lands have high value due to full water resources, well-developed infrastructure, IT industry, Pharma hub, Biotechnology companies, and other famous manufacturing industries. The cities and surrounding farmlands are being converted into real estate,the prices are skyrocketing, and people are unable to buy.

In rural areas, prices are lower compared to cities and are the best options for investing. People in their hometowns are unable to purchase as the land prices are very high. So whatever amount you have at your disposal, you can buy the land in other places.

The land prices are higher in our hometowns, and we cannot buy land. With the amount we are having, we can invest in other areas where prices are lower. With the adoption of the Dharani scheme, all the records have been secured into digital records. Under this system, all the manual records have been migrated into digital documents, giving security and peace of mind. Owning a farm plot with an organic plantation managed by professional developers has become a sought-after investment option. And the pandemic has only further pushed investors into looking at healthy eating along with stress-free living. This thought process has further enhanced buying farmlands in rural areas.

Almost in every rural area, nonlocals have bought land parcels at much higher prices than the locals has only raised the farmlands prices many folds. Two decades back, if a farmer wanted to sell land, he had the only option of selling it to a local farmer. This way, there was no appreciation of prices. Moreover, the prices were controlled by local elements, land lords and financiers. When the nonlocals started buying land parcels, the investing scenario changed, price holding elements got eliminated, lands prices raised and buyers and sellers were getting benefits. These can be illustrated by the two examples below. 

About ten years back, a businessman from Hyderababd bought a land parcel in the Maripeda Bangla in Telangana at the rate of 3 lakhs per acre. This was the time when there was not much awareness nor security. He recently sold a portion of this land parcel at a rate of 25 lakhs per acre.

Similarly, some techies from overseas bought a tract of land in Narketpally surrounding areas about ten years back at a rate of 2 lakhs per acre. Few are growing organic vegetables, few producing fruits through orchards and getting a steady income for the past ten years. The current land rates in the region are hovering around 30 lakhs per acre. Thus, we see that they are not only getting a good steady income for the past ten years, and their property investment has grown 15 times in 10 years. No other investment option can beat these returns globally. This has led to the success of orchard plantations in the past two decades.   

Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Khammam, Nizamabad, Warangal, and Adilabad have seen migration from different states. In today’s digital world, the piece of land binds all. There is nothing like local or nonlocal. Everybody is a local irrespective of caste, creed, or the language one speaks.

The migration has been boosted by the richness in tradition, culture, and heritage of Telangana. The locals are friendly and happy to go lucky, which has made life easier for the new migrants. This is the right and opportune time to invest in farmlands irrespective of where you work or your hometown, benefit from the high appreciation value of the land, thereby getting great returns.

The migration of people and knowledge plays a vital role in every society’s permanent process of change. Migrants have shaped the world and have supported both their places of origin and destination. Uneducated migrants provide their labor force, and the knowledgeable, educated offer a different set of skills and knowledge. Today, with the use of new migrated techniques and technology the yield from the farms has increased resultant makes the farms in the destination more profitable.

The migrants in foreign lands always have an option to return to their homeland. Diaspora and returned migrants also help rural areas through investments, skills and technology transfers, know-how, and social networks. With a growing purchasing power, investors in India are now looking for innovative ideas to earn higher returns from their investments.

Farmlands -Future gold mine for Investors:

Investing in agricultural land or farmland has gained a lot of traction in the last couple of years. The purpose of investing in farmland may be different food for different people. Some investors prefer to keep farmland an asset where investors leverage the growing organic fruits and vegetable market to supplement their income.

The dilemma faced by the well-established immigrant who has embraced America or Europe and its values in his early youth and prospered that have eluded his Indian brethren left behind in the land of his birth is very well known. After the initial years spent pursuing professional success and material wealth, he faces a mid-life crisis. He conflicts with the reality of the life that he has created for himself and the pull of the Indian values with which he was brought up. Although the prospect of moving back to India appeals to him, he cannot give up his comfortable life in the foreign with its peaceful monotony and predictable routine. As part of this step, he likes to invest in India for various reasons ranging from emotional connect to purely business connect for investment reasons. There are several reasons for making investments in India. The enormous backlogs in green cards in the USA, global pandemic raging worldwide with no end in sight, emotional connection with the region and extended family, and the emotional guilt of giving back to the motherland are some of the reasons for the diaspora to invest. Several urban investors are investing in agricultural land, owing to the slump in urban reality and the promise of greater long-term returns. As India progresses forward, there will be a churning of jobs and skills. Some of the jobs and skills associated with it, which were a rage previously, will become redundant. Thus many are buying up farmlands for alternate professions. Some are opting for farmlands as fixed assets for the next generation. By 2050, the demand for food globally predicted by FAO is set to double, and due to a finite amount of farmland, experts believe that farmland prices are set to rise exponentially.

Several experts have agreed that farm investment is a safe option for parking one’s funds. The return on investment is generally higher than other investments and also lends safety to investors’ money. This is termed agro-realty, and the COVID-19 pandemic has set this market booming. Urban investors are now seriously on the lookout toward the returns potential of agricultural land, especially in the peripheral or suburban areas of big cities and state capitals. With real estate prices in most urban areas and cities hovering around historical highs, traditional property investors are looking at other viable options. One option is buying agricultural land, which may not weigh too heavily on your pocket. It can also be a source of tax-free income. Buying farmland on the city’s outskirts can also be a source of additional income if you grow exotic fruits and vegetables that can fetch higher prices if you export them. With soaring demand for exotic fruits and vegetables for exports and new technologies in farming has led to a new generation of tech-savvy farmers. These new generation farmers are better educated and informed than their previous generation, and they do not shun technological advances in farming. With the realty prices in urban areas and cities hitting the roof, purchasing property has become very expensive. And, even if you can purchase a small flat at an exorbitant price, the chances of further price appreciation are remote. So, it makes sense to buy a vast tract of farmland with the same price as a small flat and let the price appreciation take place.

Start-ups now offer to help you switch to farmland, from the paperwork to managing the plot and eventual sale. One of the significant advantages of farmland is that income earned from and gains made from selling the land are exempt from taxation. However, the rules regarding agricultural land vary from state to state. Like in Telangana, anybody can buy agricultural land irrespective of whether they are farmers or not, but in some states, only registered farmers or those from farming families can purchase such land. Additionally, there exists a ceiling on the amount of farmland that any individual can own, and it varies from state to state.

Buying Farmland – Avoiding and Mitigating Risks and Losses:

Prospective buyers should be very clear about how much return they expect and whether they will lease the land to someone or do farming by themselves, and whether they want just a farm or a farmhouse.

One should be aware that farming is not such a manageable activity, as advertised by many, and the rules and legal procedures regarding agricultural land vary from state to state. Investors should exercise due diligence while buying farmland and have a clear plan for managing the ground once they own it. Buying agricultural land can be a good investment for high net worth individuals and people with surplus income. Buying farmland is filled with some difficulties. One must ensure that the land has a clear title, as farmlands; if we survey the total area on the field has to appear as mentioned on records, some lands will be in disputes, need to get a clear Encumbrance Certificate and so on. One must visit the land and enquire with the local revenue, registration, and local body authorities to find out all details about the land and the antecedents of the seller. Going through all these processes will be time-consuming and tiresome for salaried individuals or self-employed professionals living in cities. People are not deterred by the COVID-induced lockdown and its resultant sluggish economy. The monetary value of agricultural land in Telangana villages has appreciated and doubled in the last two years.