THE DOGGED RISE OF FARMERS IN BOARDROOMS

From Buddha rice to zero-pesticide chana, farmer-run companies are finding an edge with speciality produce

- Sayantan Bera [e-mail] NEW DELHI

A farmer at Ram Rahim Pragati Producer Co. Ltd in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. A largely women-run company, it supplies zero-pesticide residue to food brands.

(SAMUEL PRAGATI SAHYO)

Gayatri Karma speaks with a confidence and a sense of pride, which is rare for a small farmer. Thirty-seven and a mother of three, Karma spends her days tending to her kitchen garden and growing a variety of crops from chana to maize, in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. Karma is also part of a farmerrun company set up back in 2012. Last year, she joined the company's board and now actively takes part in reviewing its quarterly business plans. That's no small achievement for a farmer with a landholding of just three acres.

The farmer producer organization (FPO) that Karma has been a part of since its inception is Ram Rahim Pragati Producer Co. Ltd. In 2024-25, the 6,000-member strong FPO clocked a turnover of nearly ₹16 crore. So, what difference has the FPO made to the life of a small farmer like Karma? A lot, she said.

Karma's cultivation costs have halved as the FPO helped farmers switch from expensive chemical inputs to bionutrients and organic pest repellents. The farmer-run company now supplies staples like wheat, maize and pulses to a host of corporate buyers like ITC, AWL Agri Ltd (formerly Adani Wilmar) and Safe Harvest, among others. Unlike individual farmers, who often sell their produce immediately after harvest, the FPO holds the produce for a better price, and also does primary processing (like converting wheat to flour and milling pulses), grading and packaging for food brands.