A farmer from Northern India, Kapil Sharma, planted Taiwanese guava by chance, and got a life-changing harvest. Sharma hopes to visit Taiwan one day to see for himself the land that has changed his life forever.
Sharma used to work in banking and was laid off in the height of the pandemic.
He decided to return home to farm. Little did he know, the 500 guava saplings he purchased from a Taiwanese company by chance would change his life.
The Taiwanese guavas Sharma planted include the white flesh guavas and pink ones that some say carry apple and strawberry flavors. Both of them are common in Taiwan. Sharma noticed Taiwan guavas are of good quality, and don’t usually fall off the branches when ripe. In less than eight months, Sharma enjoyed a successful harvest and people who tried them loved the taste. By word of mouth, Sharma’s guavas became a huge hit and saw an overwhelming demand from local shoppers.
Sharma adopts organic approaches and uses solar energy to generate electricity on his farm. Ever since the successful venture with Taiwanese guavas, Sharma started to grow sugarcane and lemons, and raise bees, gradually becoming a model of successful organic farming.
Local officials and the Indian media alike celebrate Sharma’s success story. Officials of Sharma’s home state, Haryana, said they are considering promoting Taiwanese guavas to more farmers and looking forward to more exchanges on farming with Taiwan. In addition to the media, Sharma’s story was also covered by Manoj Kumar Panigrahi, an Indian scholar who studied in Taiwan.
Sharma himself said he really hopes to one day visit Taiwan and welcome Taiwanese farmers to come to his homeland as well. "Taiwan guavas changed my life. If I planted other species, the outcome may not be the same, " Sharma said.