Considering GDP as a measure of growth of an economy we can see what the status of agriculture in India is. India’s average quarterly GDP growth is 7.45 percent. (1) India's large service industry accounts for 57.2% of the country's GDP while the industrial and agricultural sectors contribute 28.6% and 14.6% respectively. But, still, agriculture remains the predominant occupation in India, accounting for about 52% of employment.
Inspite of the fact that agriculture has a steady decline of this share in the GDP; it is still the largest economic sector (2) and thus a significant piece that needs attention for an overall socio - economic growth of the country.
India ranks second worldwide in farm output. (2) Well, but the exports from India are only 2.5% of total world export value considering the fact that India produces 10.9% of total world production of fruits, vegetables and other products. (3)
Current farming practices:
A lot of advancements in farming happened with the Green Revolution which solved the food shortage problem to some extent. The rapid need of food security demanded the use of hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. All this came with a huge cost. The microbes got washed away and the farm ecosystem got disturbed. New crop diseases emerged. New pesticides were manufactured. And thus continues the vicious circle in which is caught the poor small farmer. The farmer who now does not understand much beyond the N, P and K. Taking advantage of his ignorance companies are now promising the farmer better yielding GM seeds. Better yields are in no way going to promise better income. This would just add to the ever increasing cost of crop production. And over time, such land has been found to be converted into unusable barren land! Moreover, considering the effects of chemicals on land, one can think of its influence on the human body.
The current situation demands Sustainability in any arena of development. And organic farming is the solution for agricultural development. The prosperity of the farmer depends on the prosperity of the land. It is based on the principles of improving soil fertility by using compost, farm obtained resources and crop diversity which would help in naturally building the microbial ecosystem for increasing the yield of the crop. And in turn stop the farmers’ dependencies on high cost fertilizers, pesticides and hybrid/ GM seeds. What is needed is the right focus on the training to empower the farmers along with the access to high value markets.
Farm to market value chain:
The farmer over a period of time has been exploited by the middlemen. Vegetables purchased at Rs. 2 or 3 a kg from farmers is sold at 20 to 30 rupees a kilo to the consumers. Thus, the farmer gets underpaid and the consumer pays exorbitant prices. The need of the hour is to link the farmer directly to the market and act as per the demand.
Jagriti Agro Tech was started with an aim to solve all the existing problems.
Benefit to farmers working with us:
· Intensive training to the farmers on organic farming
· Providing inputs (seeds, organic manure and pesticides) – if the farmer is not willing to produce it on his own farm
· Direct access to the market – Customer guarantee
· Better margin
· Year round income
Current status of work:
The company has started its pilot operations in Deoria in UP. On a leased land of 2 acres, vegetables (ladies finger, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, chillies, raddish) have been grown organically. The farm lies near the road which is easily visible to the passer byes. A lot of curiosity has been generated among the villagers. The crops would fruit in a week’s time and we are looking for retail chains who can partner with us to test market the organic produce. We are also trying to figure out other marketing channels and how we can build efficient supply chain. Our marketing success would help us convince more and more farmers to join our hands.
We are now also in the process of setting up our own dairy and using another 4 to 5 acres as experimental land for growing vegetables. The dairy would basically provide the cowdung for manure and the space would also be used to plant the trees that are required for the producing the organic pesticides and fertilizers. Farmers can come forth to replicate this model and take care of providing the supplies to the other farmers who may find it difficult at the outset to bear the cost of building manure pits.
It would be great to hear your suggestions or feedback or just to know more:
Reach me at:
aarti.chavan11@gmail.com
