For 22-year-old Achintya Anand, it was in 2014 that the seeds of a life-transforming career change were sown. In a bid to understand the ingredients he cooked with (Anand was an executive chef), he began sowing and growing at home. The success and quality of the produce led to Krishi Cress, now a supplier of microgreens in and around Delhi. The in-house business of potted greens has in a year’s time spilled over to a 1.5-acre plot of land nearby where Anand plans to get into the alternate, refreshing universe of bhindi, baingan, broccoli and bunch grapes. All the produce, like microgreens, will be sold farm-fresh, within a few hours of harvest. Anand aims to make the farm an integrated one, “complete with insects, animals and birds. The idea is to bring back the concept of a self-sustaining farm and provide the consumer with good produce through collective action with the farming community”.

Anand is among a new crop of young Indians who are turning back to the soil, many giving up high-paying corporate jobs to get their hands dirty in farm and related...