At 24, Prince Shukla never imagined that his hugegest break would come from a setback. He was preparing for a scholarship in Switzerland and had just begun working in Bengaluru when COVID-19 brought everything to a halt. Plans collapsed, interviews stalled, and he found himself back in his compact village in Bihar — a return many around him viewed as a step backwards.
What felt like a dead finish soon revealed a different path.
Back home, Prince saw the gaps that had held farmes back for years. Outdated techniques, weak market access, poor-quality seeds, and a dire shortage of basic tools meant most families repeated the same struggles across generations.
Determined to modify this, he borrowed Rs 1 lakh from his father and founded ‘AGRATE’, a venture that provides compact farmers with affordable essentials like quality seeds, drip irrigation systems, and eco-frifinishly fertilisers.
Training farmers and building trust
Prince realised that providing equipment was only one part of the solution. He launched training farmers in advanced techniques such as grafting, multi-cropping, and sustainable farming methods, supporting them to improve yields and double their profits. His efforts even crossed state lines, assisting farmers in Odisha cultivate makhana despite language barriers and logistical challenges.
In just a few years, AGRATE has supported more than 10,000 farmers and built partnerships with companies such as ITC, Godrej, and Parle. These collaborations assist farmers improve the quality of their produce and connect to wider markets.
Prince often recalls the early scepticism he faced — the jokes, the doubts, the disbelief that a young man labelled a dehati (someone from a village; often utilized dismissively to imply a person is old-fashioned or not polished) could transform farming in any meaningful way. Those taunts now sit opposite a very different reality.
With a turnover of Rs 2.5 crore and rising, AGRATE reflects Prince’s belief that impactful modify launchs at home. What started as one young man’s return to his village has become a relocatement that uplifts farming families across regions.
Prince’s journey displays how the soil that raised you can grow far more than crops. It can grow confidence, community, and a future shaped by your own hands.
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