Neha Luke’s journey into agriculture wasn’t planned- it was a leap of faith sparked by circumstance and fueled by passion. Hailing from Ambala, Haryana, Neha spent over two decades building a successful career in a leading financial institution. Her husband, too, was employed in the corporate financial world. But beneath their polished resumes lay a shared dream: a life connected to nature, animals, and the simplicity of rural living.
When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe in 2020, it shook the very foundations of life as they knew it. For Neha’s family, it meant an unexpected job loss. Yet, instead of despair, they saw an opportunity- a moment to rediscover their true calling. With courage and conviction, they decided to leave behind the comforts of corporate life and invest their savings into building something meaningful and enduring.
That dream took root as Mala Farms- a name that holds deep personal significance for Neha and embodies the purity, spirituality, and groundedness of rural life. The name was chosen as it’s her late mother’s name. Neha’s childhood memories of her revolve around spending time in the garden with her mother. Learning about growing your own food. Mala farms is a dedication to her memory.
Starting modestly on just two acres on the outskirts of Gurgaon on August 15, 2021, Mala Farms has blossomed into a thriving, 50+ acre model of organic, sustainable, and integrated farming. It stands today not just as a farm, but as a testament to resilience, purpose, and the power of starting anew.
Aside from business, Neha is very much passionate about community creation and knowledge dissemination. She has recently joined the Global Farmer Business Network (GFBN), an initiative of Krishi Jagran aimed at empowering sustainable and successful agripreneurs.
A Complete Ecosystem: Cows, Goats, Hens, Bees, and Crops
Mala Farms isn't about producing food, it's about raising life. At the heart of this farm is a philosophy of nature's harmony, where each and every animal, plant, and human being works together to sustain the environment.
The farm boasts more than 25 Gir cows, which are valued for their A2 milk. These native cows are the core of the dairy activities on the farm, supplying milk, curd, ghee, and buttermilk. The Haryanavi desi cow accompanies them, representing the couple's dedication to the conservation of local species.
But dairy is only one side.
The couple also raises approximately 60 locally bred goats, which are suited to the Haryana climate. Not only do these goats supply milk and meat, but the manure from them also fertilizes the soil.
In poultry, Mala Farms has more than 700 desi hens in its fold, from breeds such as Kadaknath and Rhode Island Red. The hens are fully free-range and naturally fed. Ducks, turkeys, and geese are also part of the farm. The latter two serve as an added pest-control force, patrolling the fields to drive off insects.
Adding a touch of grace and compassion to the landscape are two horses, Mother horse and her foal adopted and rescued by the couple. These horses now live peacefully on the farm, symbolizing the essence of care that characterizes Mala Farms.
Besides livestock, the farm boasts an ever-expanding beehive colony of 700+, which not only yields raw honey but also contributes significantly to pollination. This holistic system ensures that the farm works like a living self-sustaining organism.
A Marketplace of Clean, Honest Food
Mala Farms' produce is as varied as it is organic. Their signature items are A2 milk, paneer, buttermilk, ghee, goat milk, raw honey, desi eggs, and free-range chicken meat. All of them are raised or cultivated free of chemicals, antibiotics, or artificial additives.
Their Khapli (Emmer) wheat, an archaic low-gluten grain, is cultivated traditionally and dehusked manually to retain its nutrition. The mustard oil is cold-pressed on a wooden ghani, retaining the scent and natural benefits. These shelf-life products along with ghee and raw honey are already up for sale through leading online channels, including Amazon.
To maintain freshness, particularly for their perishable goods, Neha and the team personally deliver within the Delhi-NCR area. By next month, Mala Farms is set to offer quick commerce delivery, enabling speedier doorstep availability of fresh farm produce such as milk, eggs, vegetables, and others. They only plan to put items that have longer shelf life on these platforms. These include ghee, yellow mustard oil, honey and Khapli wheat.
Empowering Women and Building Rural Livelihoods
Beyond farming, Mala Farms has become a platform for empowerment. Neha has initiated a women-led beekeeping model, where rural women are trained to keep beehives in their homes. Neha provides them with bees and boxes, and later buys the harvested honey, offering the women a steady income source without disrupting their daily household responsibilities. Now there are 500+ beehives have been developed. This program has already touched hundreds of women, providing them with dignity, skills, and empowerment one beehive at a time.
Mentorship and Vision: Leading Through Example
She thinks farming is not a second choice, it's the future. Through webinars, workshops, and farm-based training sessions, she's empowering a new generation of agri-entrepreneurs, particularly women, to feel confident and knowledgeable.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
Neha says that farming is not easy. It demands discipline, physical labor, and emotional resilience. Animals need care 24/7. Crops don’t wait for holidays. There were days when she struggled with supply chain issues, poor monsoons, or disease outbreaks. But each challenge taught her something new.
She often says, “Although farming is romanticised, the reality is much more difficult. You have to be committed to it, live it, and never take a day off.”
A Growing Dream
Mala Farms is located at Rakba 23 in Raiseena, Gurgaon. It is not only a farm anymore, it's a vibrant realization of regenerative, profitable, and inclusive agriculture. With plans for expansion in the pipeline, Neha is planning to increase the yield of heirloom grains, set up a small-scale processing facility, and ultimately set up a Farm School where young minds can be taught the real art of farming. As Mala Farms enters the age of fast commerce and opens up further its online world, the message is the same: food must nourish, farming must heal, and success must be shared.
From corporate hallways to cowsheds, from layoffs to employment generation, Neha Luke's path with Mala Farms is one that speaks volumes about what can be constructed when heart, hard work, and humility come together. Her tale is not about agriculture, it's about re-finding life itself, grounded in nature, people, and purpose. In a time when people are looking for meaning and stability, Mala Farms provides a blueprint not only for producing food, but for producing hope.
Note: Global Farmer Business Network (GFBN) is a dynamic platform where agricultural professionals—farmer entrepreneurs, innovators, buyers, investors, and policymakers - converge to share knowledge, experiences, and scale their businesses. Powered by Krishi Jagran, GFBN facilitates meaningful connections and collaborative learning opportunities that drive agricultural innovation and sustainable development through shared expertise. Join GFBN today: https://millionairefarmer.in/gfbn
