In 2019, circumstances suddenly placed the responsibility of 70 acres of farming on Sarika Varun Gaikwad. Today, she manages grape and pomegranate cultivation and coordinates the work of nearly 75 labourers. Last year, her farm generated more than ₹1 crore in income.

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Sarika holds an M.A. in Economics. She married into the Gaikwad family in 2010. At that time, the family was financially stable and the men in the household handled the farming responsibilities. Sarika therefore had little reason to become directly involved in agricultural work. Her life revolved around her home, family and child.

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Everything changed in 2019 when her husband died in an accident. It took time to recover from the loss. But eventually, she made an important decision: she would not allow the farm her husband had built through years of hard work to be left behind. She decided to take responsibility and carry it forward.

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The challenge was significant—70 acres of farmland, grape and pomegranate crops requiring constant care and planning, nearly 75 workers, and daily farming decisions. The biggest difficulty was that Sarika had no prior farming experience.

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Instead of saying, “I don’t know farming,” she chose to say, “I want to learn.”

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She began spending more time in the fields and communicating with workers. She learned what needed to be done and when, how much labour was required and how the vineyard and orchards needed to be managed at different stages. Whenever she encountered something new, she made an effort to learn it.

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At one point, she needed to drive a vehicle and learned to drive a car in just two hours. It may seem like a small incident, but it reflects her ability to adapt quickly when circumstances demanded it.

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Gradually, she took charge of everything—from daily farm operations and labour management to crop care, production planning and future decisions. Managing around 75 workers, reviewing daily work, maintaining the orchards and planning upcoming activities became part of her routine.

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In the process, she did not merely learn farming; she began looking at farming as a business.

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Her efforts and planning produced results. Last year, the farm generated more than ₹1 crore in income.

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But Sarika did not stop there. Drawing on her farming experience, she also started a compost business called ‘V-Prom’. While preserving the agricultural world built by her husband, she added a new business dimension of her own.

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Her son is currently in Class 10, and she hopes he will eventually enter farming and carry the family’s agricultural work forward. She also has another goal—to restart the family’s grape packhouse, which is currently closed, and fulfil a dream her husband had left unfinished.

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The biggest transformation in Sarika’s journey began not in the fields, but in her mindset. When circumstances changed, she chose to change with them. Instead of stopping after her husband’s death, she learned, took decisions and gradually took complete responsibility for the farm.

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Watch the video: Navdurgas of the Farm — Sarika Gaikwad

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