A decade ago, Masapalli Venkatesh saw the spiky agave cactus as nothing more than a nuisance. On his 10-acre farm in Kandukur, on the Deccan Plateau, he grew tomatoes, peanuts and corn. The agave americana that sprouted along his boundaries was a "stubborn, valueless weed" — planted only as fencing to keep wild animals off his crops.
Then, in 2010, traders arrived looking for that very weed. Agave is the plant that feeds the $15bn global market for tequila and mezcal, but unlike in Mexico, where blue agave is farmed in the state of Jalisco, nobody in India grows it commercially — at least not yet. Instead, farmers like Venkatesh collect the wild plants that thrive across vast stretches of southern and central India.
“Indian farmers turn wild agave into 'blue gold' as distillers create a new spirits industry.”
Today, Venkatesh coordinates villagers and farmers across an area of 100km, delivering what he calls "blue gold" to a new generation of distillers. "By combining the yields of multiple farms, I ensure a steady, high-volume supply that distilleries are willing to pay a premium for," he says.
The work is painstaking. The heart of the plant — the piña, named for its resemblance to a giant pineapple — must be extracted by chopping off the spiky leaves. But the timing is everything. "Gatherers must accurately identify the exact pre-blooming window to harvest the plant at its absolute peak sugar capacity, making the timing of the harvest incredibly narrow," explains Rakshay Dhariwal, founder of distiller Maya Pistola Agavepura. If the flower blooms, the sugar is depleted and the piña becomes useless for alcohol.
Once harvested, the clock is even tighter. The piñas must reach a pressure cooker within 24 hours. "Any transport delay can risk ruining the batch," says Dhariwal. "If it takes longer than 24 hours, the internal sugars begin to rot and ferment unpredictably, destroying the delicate flavour profile needed for premium spirits."
Transport is a logistical challenge. Agave suppliers are scattered across states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. "Brands like us cannot simply order from a centralised farming cooperative," Dhariwal adds. "We rely on networks of local aggregators to scout, negotiate for, and harvest individual patches of semi-wild agave."
For Venkatesh, what was once a worthless weed has become a reliable source of extra income. And for India's distillers, these wild plants are the foundation of a new spirits industry.