This is the story of three software professionals who ventured on a journey to bring like-minded organic farmers together.
After 13 years as IT professionals, three friends, Rajat Saini, Mritunjaya and Madhu Dixit, started their search for a better life filled with health, happiness and purpose. During their research they discovered that healthier the soil, richer the produce. This idea gave birth to OrganiKrishi in 2017. Rajat reminisces, “We started with our mission to revive our ecosystem with Organic matter by enriching our Mother Earth, our soil! To pursue our vision we travelled across India, to search for like-minded people, using natural practices and working with the right intention to serve others (Society). As we read in our scriptures, “जैसा अन् वैसा मन ” that is, quality of our food is largely dependent on quality of soil.”
The challenges
How difficult was it for the trio to get into organic farming in India? In India, the financial situation of a farmer is not good, and they are not willing to take risks in natural farming. The situation is so much critical that even a farmer doesn’t want their children to enter the farming profession.
Mritunjaya adds, “Another challenge is with the consumers – they want all the fruits and vegetables all round the year. The concept of eat seasonal, eat local is totally missing for the urban population. Besides, even if a farmer is convinced to grow naturally, our system is not very supportive to selling his natural produce. All these factors have led to worsening the condition of our soil and depleting its natural nutrition, replacing it with chemicals, and therefore reviving its goodness becomes a great challenge.”
Speaking about the similarities in Organic and Vedic farming, Madhu informs, “The intention of Organic,Vedic, Natural, Ancient and No effort farming is all the same – farming without chemical fertiliser/pesticides, usage of indigenous seeds, increasing microbes in the soil to improve its fertility and crop rotation. Vedic farming was followed by our sages or Rishi-Munis, who learnt the farming techniques (like impact of seasons, soil and beej-upchaar) during their stay in forests. These process/tools were articulated in Krishi Parashara.”
Three things are extremely taken care of in OrganiKrishi – Environment, Quality and the Farmer. The company looks for the following qualities in a farmer:
- Feel socially responsible- towards doing something good for ecosystem and coming generations
- Zeal to start chemical free farming
- Optimistic mindset to learn and explore
- Willing to share his experience with fellow farmers and build a strong team.
Rajat explains, “When food is grown with the right intention, it certainly passes all the quality measures. Our quality measures are very stringent to ensure maximum benefit to customers.” Currently, OrganiKrishi has 9 products in its portfolio like Amla Juice, Aloe vera, Turmeric Powder, Desi Cow A2 Ghee, Honey, Moringa Powder, Mustard oil, Jaggery and Bansi Gold Wheat. Certification is a pain point for many farmers. Mritunjaya says, “Some farmers have PGS certification and few are in discussion with their fellow farmers to start with PGS enrolment. Certification cost is a real pain for a small and medium land farmer, because sometimes farmers with the right intention are not co-located. There are few farmers who are doing and following natural farming practices religiously but the land lease plus certification cost is sometimes a burden for them.” He also suggests, that an indigenous seed bank should be created by the local KVY (Krishi Vikas Kendra).
The organic market in India
Sharing his insights on the organic food market in India and the Covid-19 impact, Rajat observes, “The organic food market has grown exponentially in India. People are now becoming more conscious about their health and lifestyle, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has proven that food is the most essential of all luxuries. Naturally grown food boosts immunity to strongly face everyday challenges.”
The organic market has recently seen a lot of fraudsters out to make an easy buck. Rajat opines, “Specifically, for organic products, Government of India has implemented Jaivik Bharat logo, PGS logo to differentiate it from other products but we believe these are for businessmen who have made it a factory product. For example, in real time situation, farm produce should be seasonal. Ibut ionically, organic produce is available throughout the year. The government should consider small/medium scale farmers if they want to revolutionise or want to create another Sikkim state.”
Organic farmers have to sell their products as conventional products because of our non-efficient marketing systems. Most conventional farmers are skeptical about the long-term perspective of getting a premium price for organic products. Madhu agrees, “Transportation cost of a produce from distant location to major metropolitan cities is high and it makes the situation worse for small scale farmers as their produce is not in huge quantities. Hence, conscious consumers living in tier-2 and tier-3 cities can play a major role because for a farmer, financial benefit is a great motivation for him and his family.”
Future footprint
What about the future roadmap for OrganiKrishi? Mritunjaya believes, “We all know that good thoughts when accompanied by actions can do wonders. Our aim is to turn our Matrabhoomi into natural, acre by acre. To revolutionise this vision and to make India ‘Atamanirbhar’ we want to bring together self motivated and like minded farmers from all states of India. We want them to produce OrganiKrishi quality products and we will help them to sell their products locally as well as globally.”
Rajat sums up, “Currently in India the best produce is exported and we consume the leftover products. We carry a vision to serve our nation first, with the best produce. This can be achieved by adding maximum farmers from different states with us. Let’s join hands to create a better world for coming generations.”
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Very well said “jaisa Ann waisa mann”.The three of them started with an intention to provide healthy and organic lifestyle to the generation. Great products 👌👌. keep up the good work OrganiKrishi. gudluck👍👍