Partnerships with Bharatiya Beej Sahakari and NCOL aim to strengthen sustainable agriculture value chains nationwide

The Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences & Technology Trust (AOL-SSIAST), the agricultural arm of the Art of Living Foundation, has inked two landmark Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) and National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL). The signing ceremony, held in the presence of Ashish Bhutani, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, underscores a renewed push to bolster indigenous seed preservation and scale organic farming across the country.

The agreement with BBSSL focuses on safeguarding India’s native seed biodiversity by preserving, multiplying, and promoting indigenous seeds through community seed banks, local seed keeper training, and joint research initiatives. The partnership also includes hosting seed festivals and deploying blockchain-based traceability systems to ensure seed authenticity. These efforts align closely with the government’s National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), aiming to enhance food security and sustainable agricultural practices.

In parallel, the MoU with NCOL is designed to create robust value chains for organic produce grown by farmers trained under AOL-SSIAST’s programs. The collaboration will facilitate aggregation, certification (via Participatory Guarantee System and National Programme for Organic Production), marketing, and logistics support through NCOL’s extensive cooperative network. By mobilizing and training organic farmers and strengthening post-harvest management, the partnership seeks to expand the reach of organic products domestically and internationally.

Leveraging AOL-SSIAST’s strong presence in climate-sensitive regions and NCOL’s national infrastructure, these strategic collaborations aim to make indigenous seeds and organic produce more accessible, traceable, and scalable, thereby promoting biodiversity, sustainability, and farmer empowerment at scale.