Anil Balanja cultivates more than 700 varieties of tropical fruits, many of which are popular in South-East Asia.

Karnataka-native Anil Balanja grew up observing his father cultivate various types of jackfruit and mango. From a young age, he was determined to become a farmer and began his journey at 19 by planting areca, coconut, and rubber.

Five years ago, inspired by his father legacy, Anil Balanja decided to plant a variety of exotic fruits on his farm, many of which are rarely seen in India. This includes avocados, santol from Malaysia, Kepel from Indonesia, and more.

Today, Anil farm in the Dakshina-Kannada district is home to over 700 varieties of exotic fruits sourced from 40 countries. He obtains the seeds for these fruits from friends abroad and specialized nurseries.

He meticulously keeps a detailed record of each fruit, noting the ideal temperature for growth, soil type, scientific names, and even their medicinal values.

Anil Balanja also cultivates seedless varieties of mango, jackfruit, lemon, guava, and jamun on his 30-acre farm. His impressive tropical fruit collection includes varieties from Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand, and more. His farming journey began with planting Biriba from Brazil. His diverse collection includes fruits like avocado, santol, dragon fruit, rambutan, and many others.

Then again growing fruit plants also needs patience as plants from some seeds may take anywhere between 8-15 years to start yielding. Some grafted varieties start yielding in 2 to 3 years.

The first foreign fruit that Balanja had harvested in his farm was rollinia deliciosa(also called biriba) from Brazil. This fruit is part of the seethaphal family. He also said that he was the first one to harvest cempedak fruit from Malaysia in India many years ago.

Balanja also recently harvested the Indonesian fruit called Blue Java Banana.

Challenges to Face:

“We get disease in plant from June to august as heavy rain leads to the problems of nemotodes and fungus. Stem-Borer is another problem we face here. Fruits Faces the problems of fruit flies when they mature,” he adds.

In addition to his diverse collection, Anil now runs his own nursery to propagate the exotic fruits he has gathered. He says, “The nursery develops plants of around 200 vareities of fruits now. Our customers range from nurseries from west Bengal to Thiruvananthapuram.”

Anil Balanja dedication to preserving and cultivating a diverse range of exotic fruits has turned his farm into a living testament to agricultural innovation. Through his passion for tropical fruits and his commitment to sustainable farming, he has not only enriched the local landscape with over 700 unique varieties but also contributed to the broader farming community by sharing his knowledge and resources. Anil work serves as an inspiring example of how one individual  vision and persistence can create a thriving, biodiverse farm that bridges cultures and enriches the environment.

Edited by Gayathri