§1What this business is
Ber is a hardy fruit tree that grows in hot, dry areas and on sandy, clayey, saline and alkaline soils. Budded plants of varieties such as Gola, Umran and Kaithli are planted at 6 m × 6 m at the start of the monsoon. Trees are pruned every year and the fruit is picked by hand, graded by size and sold through village traders or commission agents. The model starts counting fruit from the 3rd year, and vegetables are grown between the rows until then. Trees stay productive for 25-30 years.
Capacity: 1 acre, 120 plants. Yield in the model rises from 3 tonnes an acre in the 3rd year to 7 tonnes an acre.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A farmer in a dry or semi-dry area with at least an acre of spare land and some water for irrigation.
Who it is not for
Farms in frost-prone or very humid areas, or anyone who needs income in the first two years.
Advantages
- Grows on poor, saline and alkaline soils where other fruit fails
- Lowest outlay among the NHB orchard models at ₹1,00,000 an acre
- Trees bear for 25-30 years
- Leaves are a nutritious fodder for animals
Drawbacks
- No fruit income in the first 2 years
- The model's selling price is low at ₹8 a kg
- Fruit keeps only a few days at room temperature
- Yearly pruning is a must and needs trained hands
Skills you need
- Budding and raising ber plants
- Yearly pruning in the dormant season
- Running drip irrigation at the right times
- Grading and packing fruit by size
Why difficulty 2/5: A hardy crop with simple care, but there is a 2-year wait and pruning has to be done right every year.
§3Market
Who buys
- Village-level trade agents
- Commission agents at the fruit mandi
- Processors making murabba, candy, dehydrated ber, pulp, jam and beverages
How it sells
- Cloth sheets or gunny bags for the local market
- Graded fruit in perforated 6 kg cardboard cartons for distant markets
- Truck transport from the orchard to the market
Good to know
- Harvest time: October-November in south India, December-March in Gujarat, January-March in Rajasthan and February-April in north India.
- Pre-cooling at 10°C right after harvest adds about 3 days of shelf life; fruit keeps 30-40 days at 3°C and 85-90% humidity.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tube-well with submersible pump | 1 | ₹35,000 |
| Drip irrigation with fertigation system | 1 | ₹15,000 |
| Hand-operated farm implements | — | ₹1,000 |
| Store and pump house (50 sq ft at ₹200 a sq ft) | 1 | ₹10,000 |
| Fencing and gates | — | ₹20,000 |
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Ber (2005)
- Budded ber plants120 plants an acre at ₹20 a plant = ₹2,400
- Farmyard manure and fertilisers₹3,000 in the first year; two baskets of manure go into each 60 × 60 × 60 cm pit
- Insecticides and fungicides₹2,000 in the first year
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Ber (2005)
§5Licences & registration
- No licence is needed to grow the crop on your own farm land
- Land ownership or lease papers for the bank loan and subsidy file
- FSSAI registration if you sell packed produce under your own name
- APEDA registration and a phytosanitary certificate if you export
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
The model funds the project as farmer's share ₹50,000 (50%), capital subsidy ₹20,000 (20%) and term loan ₹30,000 (30%). Under NHB's current rules, open-field horticulture gets a 35% back-ended subsidy (45% in North-East, Himalayan and scheduled areas) only on projects above 2 hectares that carry a bank term loan, and land cost is not counted. A one-acre plot qualifies only as part of a larger project.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: One-acre model: land levelling ₹4,000 + fencing ₹20,000 + store and pump house ₹10,000 + tube-well with submersible pump ₹35,000 + drip irrigation ₹15,000 + implements ₹1,000 + first-year cultivation ₹15,000 (planting material ₹2,400, manures and fertilisers ₹3,000, pesticides ₹2,000, labour ₹4,000, power ₹3,600) = ₹1,00,000. Land cost is not included; the farmer is taken to own the land.
Working capital: Recurring cost is ₹14,000 in the first bearing year and rises to ₹18,300. Vegetables grown between the rows in the early years cost ₹10,000 an acre and give about 6 tonnes worth ₹30,000 a year.
Prices from 2005 — planting material, labour and input costs are much higher now. The model counts labour at only ₹70 a day.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: APEDA
- The report gives no export figures for ber; it treats it as a fruit for the home market.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Fruit fly and fruit borer damage
- Powdery mildew in the fruiting season
- Frost injury to trees
- Irrigation at the wrong time causing flower drop or fruit spoilage
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working ber (indian jujube) orchard unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (No licence is needed to grow the crop on your own farm land, Land ownership or lease papers for the bank loan and subsidy file), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Ber (Indian Jujube) Orchard?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.