Organic India has been at the forefront in providing genuine organic products for a health-conscious living. OrganicIndia organises Dharti Mitr awards every year to recognise the invaluable service that organic farmers provide to agriculture, ecology and to the society of India. Subrata Dutta, Group MD, Organic India in interaction with Agro Spectrum reveals more about the company’s ongoing and future growth strategy
What role does Organic India play to enhance the upliftment of farmers?
At the heart of Organic India is our commitment to being a living embodiment of love and consciousness in action. Our products are made in India and reach millions of consumers worldwide with a message of interconnectedness and oneness with nature. With a far-sighted vision, the brand started its march towards building the organic movement in India and globally, to provide solutions for health-conscious living. The thought was also to encourage organic farming in India, a concept still new at that time, to protect the soil and mother nature for the future.
Farmers form an integral part of Organic India and we are focussed on supporting the livelihood and well-being of farmers and tribal wildcrafters across rural India. Many belong to marginalised groups, including women, widows, the elderly and the illiterate. We provide educational opportunities enabling self-sufficiency and developing skills to pass on to future generations. The relationship that the brand share with the farmers and communities is built on mutual respect, dignity and inter-connectedness. Our commitment goes beyond the farm to help enhance the lives of our farmers through fair-market wages, access to healthcare, empowerment and gender equality programmes, as well as infrastructure improvements. When farmers succeed, their villages also prosper, leading to a collective enhancement of the quality of life. All our farmers and tribal wildcrafters are educated in organic and regenerative agricultural practices.
How many farmers are engaged with your organisation?
Organic India works with over 3000 rural family farmers to cultivate over 10,000 acres of organic farmland in India.
What are the new sustainable roles would you like to implement five years down the line?
At Organic India, we intend to leave the planet in better condition than we found it by committing to practices that heal the Earth, enrich biodiversity and regenerate the soil. As a practice and to support natural, sustainable, organic, agriculture practices that serve and protect Mother Nature, we never used synthetic chemicals, GMOs or irradiation. Our regenerative farming practices incorporate organic and biodynamic standards and treat each farm as a unique organism.
Our vision is to be a Vehicle of Consciousness in the global market by creating a holistic, sustainable business modality, which inspires, promotes and supports True Wellness and respect for all Beings and Mother Nature.
You organise Dharti Mitr awards every year to recognise the invaluable service for organic farmers. How can this type of felicitation encourage farmers in the long run?
With the intent of encouraging and acknowledging the relentless contribution of such farmers throughout the country, we first instituted the Dharti Mitr Awards four years ago. These past two years have not been easy for farmers due to the Covid outbreak. Due to the restrictions and disruptions caused by the global pandemic, farming has been adversely affected in terms of the availability of inputs and a steep rise in the price of inputs such as seeds, bio-fertilisers, and compost. To salute the unflagging spirit of the Indian organic farmer, Dharti Mitr Awards return bigger and brighter this year in collaboration with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF).
The awards aim to recognise the outstanding contributions of five individual organic farmers every year by bestowing them with cash prizes and citations. The winners will be selected from over a hundred plus applicants from rural India. Dharti Mitr Awards are similar to ORGANIC INIDA’s appreciation and recognition of organic farmers who are the unsung heroes of the agricultural landscape and who continue to endeavour to increase productivity while ensuring a healthier world. By bringing them together on the same platform as those in the limelight, we acknowledge that farmers are rockstars too.
What role is technology playing in the growth of the organic food industry in India?
Some of the major challenges faced by the sector include transforming farming behaviour and culture within the country towards sustainable and organic farming practices, and higher storage and transportation costs. These factors make leveraging the latest technologies at all levels of organic food and beverage production essential for the industry to undergo a complete transformation and usher in the future of the organic industry that can meet future demands, widen product range, expand reach, ensure rapid seamless delivery, and reap dividends for the agriculture and food processing sector.
The organic food and beverage industry has already begun adopting technologies at some levels, ranging from farming, cultivation, storage, to supply chain and logistics, to food processing and sales. The New-age technologies have begun addressing age-old challenges of unpredictable climate changes, monsoon and irrigation, crop pests, crop protection, soil enrichment without fertilisers, so on and so forth. Not only is technology addressing traditional challenges, it’s opening new frontiers and making future possibilities a reality.
Ushering in the era of Agriculture 5.0, the sector has begun using IoT, data analytics and machine learning for precision agriculture. Modern agriculture has already employed geospatial and IoT sensor-driven technologies for mapping cultivation areas, which is especially effective for smallholding farmers. Advanced technologies are enabling production from side streams and waste along with main commodities and enhancing sustainable cultivation through drip irrigation processes. Organic produce needs careful storage and handling post cultivation, and technologies are helping us design and construct smart storage systems. The rise in advanced technologies is empowering the organic food industry to achieve greater possibilities, and more transformations are in the offing. The new-age food and beverage industries are blockchain in the entire value chain matrix and the increasing role of AI and IoT across domains.
What does the future hold for the organic food industry in India?
India’s organic food and beverage industry has experienced consistent growth over the past couple of decades. Backed by the widening middle class, gradual improvement in purchasing power, elevation in the quality of life, and more disposable income, more Indians than ever before are consciously choosing organic food. According to research by Meticulous Research, the global organic food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.2 per cent from 2020 to 2027 to reach $272.18 billion by 2027. The Indian market is also consistently growing in this segment and organic India expects to grow faster than the market.
What are the current challenges facing the organic food industry & what more needs to be done?
The need for health-conscious living is highlighted due to the pandemic, leading to more involvement and engagement of Organic India consumer base with the category. Today the consumer understands and is looking to adopt the principle of prevention being better than cure. Understanding the current need of customers and the shift, the organic food industry has adapted a delivery mechanism to ensure immunity-building products are available to the consumers in need.
India’s organic cultivation potential is underutilised. Over 30 per cent of total certified organic producers in the world are Indian, but the country accounts for only 3.3 per cent of the global organic cultivated area.
Do you plan to launch new food products in 2022?
Our major aim for 2022 is to become a one-stop ‘organic’ solution for the consumer looking for health and wellness products. To this extent and with a strong focus on consumer health and wellness, recently in October 2021, we announced our foray into the organic commodity segment. Over the years the brand has been offering products derived from organically grown flora, untouched by chemicals, with minimal processing.
The newly launched category and product portfolio comprise regular grocery items like organic Basmati rice, Dalia, pulses, spices, and also value-added products like red rice, black rice, flax seeds etc. Rich in nutrients and antioxidants, the range urges the customers to “taste the difference and make a difference to the environment, farmers and the organic ecosystem”. While we focus on improving the taste of our products by emphasising their purity, when buying ORGANIC INDIA products, the consumer also contributes to the lives of the farmers and the environment.
What are the major plans in store for this year?
Convert every household into an epitome of Healthy Conscious Living where organic food and organic solutions become a way of living. Currently, we have a significant presence in India and the US with a factory in Lucknow and offices in Lucknow, Delhi, and Boulder (Colorado, US). Moving ahead, the focus will be on the rest of the world with an eye on further consolidation of the business in India and the US.
Sanjiv Das
sanjiv.das@mmactiv.com
