Book unveiled at the MANAGE campus, Hyderabad on 18 April 2026. The volume profiles a cohort of founders building long-term enterprises across the agricultural value chain, including Anand Chandra, Co-founder of Arya.ag

The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, has launched ‘The Far Acre’, a new volume chronicling the journeys of agri-entrepreneurs who are reshaping Indian agriculture. The book was unveiled on Saturday, 18 April 2026, at its Rajendranagar campus.

Authored by Akanksha Shukla and Dr. J. Shanti, ‘The Far Acre’ brings together the stories of MANAGE alumni and associates who are building enterprises through ambiguity, staying with hard problems, and choosing long, patient paths over short-term wins. The cohort spans founders working across agri-finance, post-harvest management, market linkages, farmer aggregation and rural technology, each chronicled in a dedicated chapter.

The book situates itself against a backdrop in which Indian agriculture, despite being the country’s largest source of livelihood, still grapples with fragmented value chains, avoidable post-harvest losses and inadequate access to credit for smallholder farmers. ‘The Far Acre’ documents how its featured entrepreneurs have chosen to work within these realities, improving the system from the inside rather than seeking to disrupt it from the outside.

Among the founders featured in the volume is Anand Chandra, Co-founder of Arya.ag, India’s largest integrated grain commerce platform. Reflecting on being part of the cohort, he said, “MANAGE gave me a way to look at agriculture, not as a sector, but as a system. Complex, interdependent and deeply human. In systems like these, change is rarely loud.It shows up quietly, in warehouses, in mandis, in a thousand small decisions made every day. That has been the journey with Arya.ag. I am grateful to be part of this cohort from MANAGE. Different paths, shared intent.”

Delivering the chief guest address, S. Sivakumar of ITC Limited said, “The book reminds me of the Pandavas. The agri-entrepreneurs are Arjun, sharply focused, able to withstand any challenge and move ahead even when there is a lack of visibility on all the facts. MANAGE, as an institution, is Yudhishthira, never fazed or dramatic, yet quietly connecting markets, institutions and livelihoods.

The MANAGE Alumni Association is Bhima, carrying the intent, getting people together and driving execution. Sahadeva is known for keen perceptiveness; the authors are a reflection of that perceptive nature, bringing out the doubts, decisions and detours that are the hallmark of Sahadeva. And Nakul, the most beautiful of them all, is the book itself.”

The launch event was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, MANAGE faculty, alumni, industry leaders, and the entrepreneurs featured in the book. Organisers positioned the volume as a celebration of systems-led thinking in Indian agriculture, a narrative often missed in conventional startup storytelling.

Established in 1987, MANAGE has been a central institution in Indian agricultural extension, supporting policymakers, practitioners, researchers and entrepreneurs across the country. ‘The Far Acre’ is part of its wider effort to document, connect and amplify the work of those reimagining rural India.