At 24, when most young professionals dream of foreign scholarships and big-city careers, Prince Shukla found himself back in his small Bihar village — not by choice, but by circumstance. COVID-19 had shut down the world, paused his scholarship plans in Switzerland, and halted his Bengaluru job interviews.
To many around him, his return looked like failure — a “dehati” coming back because he couldn’t make it outside.
But what looked like an ending soon became the beginning of something extraordinary.
The Beginning of AGRATE: A ₹1 Lakh Gamble That Changed Thousands of Lives
Back home, Prince saw what he had never fully noticed before:
●Farmers using outdated methods
●Poor-quality seeds
●No irrigation tools
●Middlemen exploiting prices
●Youth giving up on agriculture
The problem wasn’t that farmers lacked talent — they lacked tools, training, and trust.
Prince borrowed Rs 1 lakh from his father and started AGRATE, a small venture focused on:
●Affordable, high-quality seeds
●Drip-irrigation systems
●Eco-friendly fertilisers
●Modern agricultural tools
What began in one village slowly started making noise across districts.
Training Farmers, Rebuilding Confidence
Prince quickly realised that selling equipment wasn’t enough. Farmers needed knowledge as much as they needed tools.
So he began training them personally in:
●Grafting
●Multi-cropping
●Water-efficient farming
●Soil management
●High-yield techniques
Farmers who were earlier growing crops “the old way” began doubling their profits using modern methods.
His impact reached beyond Bihar—Prince trained farmers in Odisha to grow makhana, overcoming language barriers and logistical challenges along the way.
From a Village Boy to a Corporate Collaborator
AGRATE’s authentic grassroots model soon caught the attention of major companies, leading to partnerships with:
◆ITC
◆Godrej
◆Parle
These collaborations helped farmers:
● Improve crop quality
● Connect directly with large markets
● Earn better prices
● Reduce dependence on middlemen
Today, AGRATE has empowered over 10,000 farmers, making agriculture dignified and profitable again.
From Being Mocked as “Dehati” to Becoming a Role Model
The same people who made fun of him for returning home now see him as:
A job creator
A problem solver
A community leader
A young entrepreneur transforming rural India
Prince proved that:
“Great ideas don’t come from big cities — they grow from your roots.”
With a turnover of ₹2.5 crore and rapidly rising, AGRATE stands as a living example of what happens when one young person decides to change the story instead of complaining about it.
A Movement, Not Just a Startup
Prince’s journey is no longer just a business success. It has become:
A model of rural innovation
A symbol of dignity for farmers
A reminder that progress begins at home
He didn’t just return to his village —
he rebuilt it.
His story shows that the soil that raised you can grow more than crops.
It can grow confidence, opportunity, and a future shaped by your own hands.
