Founded by Kedar Joshi and Amol Mali, Urja Farms is a Maharashtra based certified B2B sales platform for organic agriculture and is a first of its kind in India. A noble thought was the inspiration behind starting this brand, Kedar shares, “Most Indians have someone in the family/close relatives who have been diagnosed with Cancer. Due to this, we all are aware of the critical emotional situations, the pain, the struggle, the financial burden a family has to go through. One of the major reasons causing Cancer or other such human hazards is the use of chemical and/or synthetic pesticides & fertilisers in conventional farming practices. We decided to work on the root cause of this problem in 2018.” That was how Urjafarms was formed.
The holistic approach
Further, some evidence exists that the synthetic substances used to produce inorganic food items may cause long-term damage to the land, ultimately making the land less fertile or non-fertile. Urja Farms strives hard to supply produce that is not only ‘poison-free,’ but also healthy for public health, and to increase public ‘access to nutritious food.
Kedar and Amol are also on a mission to help farmers who practise Organic Farming, Zero Budget Natural Farming and Traditional Farming by marketing their products in society, as well as promoting these farming approaches that do not damage the soil’s fertility and raise awareness among farmers and customers.
Amol adds, “Our vision is to become a pioneer organisation in supply aggregation of organic agricultural produce worldwide and become India’s first credit rating company that ensures the authenticity of the produce through various measures.” Urja Farms aims to become the largest player in the organic sector when it comes to exclusive contract based farming for domestic as well as international client
The duo too had their share of difficulties and challenges initially. Kedar says, “When we started as a B2C company, we faced a major challenge to locate the farmers practising organic farming. Just to find the exact problem, we had to invest 2 years in on-ground operations such as home deliveries, retail, catering to B2B clients.
They realised that the primary issue with the industry was that bulk buyers find it difficult to locate the farmers of certified organic farming. That is when they decided to form India’s first supply aggregation organisation for organic agriculture.
Urja Farms deals in organic categories like pulses, grains, processed food, seeds, vegetables and fruits that are certified by the National Programme for Organic Production India (NPOP), Canada Organic Regime (COR), Participatory Guarantee System of Gol (PGS), and European Union (EU).
The Marketplace
The company launched India’s first B2B sales platform for organic agriculture producers on August 15, 2021, where farmers and traders can promote and sell their organic products for free.
The marketplace also offers useful information about the organic stock of diverse farmers located in different parts of the country. The type of certification, transaction certificate availability, lab test status, pack size, packing materials, rate, location, photographs, and so on are also generally included in this information. This information is provided so that purchasers’ decision-making processes might be improved.
Before starting work on the Marketplace, they launched an experiment in March 2020, where they entered into an MoU with Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission (MSRLM) to deploy Self Help Group Women in organic farming. The motive behind it was to address issues like quality, consistent availability, originality and pricing control. The MSRLM made a documentary on it.
Further, Urja Farms recently started working on the export domains and have successfully completed a few orders to the Middle East and Europe.
The road ahead
They also shared their future plans and ambitions for the next few years. “Assisting farmers in marketing and selling” is one of their core priorities. The reason for this is because, as per APEDA statistics, India’s organic cultivated area was 26,57,889.33 ha in 2020-21, with a total number of farmers of 15,99,010, and unless organic farmers’ produce is fairly compensated, the number of such farmers in India will not increase significantly.
Another goal for them is to aggregate supplies in stages and to become the backbone of organic agricultural produce procurement for B2B bulk purchasers (such as B2C enterprises, Indian exporters, overseas importers, and food processing companies). “By aggregating supply, we wish to play the role of free ‘Marketing Managers’ for Indian farmers,” says Kedar.
Another aim for them is to scale up the initiative in terms of technology, staff and reach; Urja Farms is also in talks with potential investors to generate funds for the company.
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