Sangareddy: At the age of 17, he dropped out of school after passing Intermediate. He worked various jobs for a few years before deciding to try his hand at horticulture farming in 2002 when he was 19 years old. He now employs 20 agricultural labourers and earns a tidy Rs 1 crore profit per year at the age of 39.

Meet Mohammad Haneef, a dropout-turned-farmer whose success story has astounded seasoned farmers in the district. Haneef not only owns eight acres of property in Mambapur village in Sangareddy district's Gummadidala Mandal, but he has also leased another 20 acres to grow various crops.

Haneef told media that the produce from the 28 acres earns him Rs 8 lakh per month, which converts to Rs 1 crore per year. "Gummadidala was famed for vegetable cultivation," Haneef, a native of Reddypally in Medak district's Alladurgam Mandal, said, adding that he had stopped studying and was looking for work. To make ends meet, his father engaged in minor business.

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"I wanted to support my family. With that single objective in mind, I took two acres of land on lease in 2002 at Mambapur to cultivate leafy vegetables," he stated. Haneef started making money right away and has never looked back since. Over the years, he reinvested his money and purchased eight acres at Mambapur. Haneef enlarged his crop to 28 acres after embracing modern farming tactics such as pandal cultivation, mulching, and drip irrigation.

The horticultural farmer said his sister, brother-in-law, and other family members operate two stalls at Rythu Bazaar where they sell their produce to earn the best possible rates, claiming that around 20 labourers work on his field all year.

It's no surprise that M Hanumantha Rao, the Sangareddy District Collector, chose Haneef to motivate and inspire Dalit Bandhu beneficiaries, who are being given every opportunity to financially empower themselves by launching enterprises with the Rs 10 lakh they receive under the plan. On Wednesday, Haneef gave a lecture to the beneficiaries at the district collectorate, and he proposed that some of them take up horticulture cultivation.

P Sunitha, the District Horticulture Officer, said she always encouraged aspiring horticulture farmers to pay a visit to Haneef's property to learn about his methods. Haneef, Telangana's agriculture minister, stated that the state was still reliant on imports for 70% of its vegetables, but that horticulture farming held great promise. He also cautioned that agriculture, more than any other job, needs a high level of devotion. "We need to spend a lot of time on our farm, besides ensuring proper marketing for our harvest, which is key to success."