Do you ever realise how desperately we need organic farming in our ecosystem? Are we completely aware of the benefits that organic farming brings along with itself. Is everyone aware of the cost associated with the introduction of organic crops in the market? How do you think that the farmers address the demands of the market for organic crops? Are we well-equipped to address the shortcomings associated with organic farming in India? Ekgaon technologies is taking giant strides in the pursuit of establishing India as one of the global leaders in the field of organic farming.

Ekgaon technologies, founded by Mr. Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya and Mr. Tapan S. Parikh in 2003, works in the agricultural sector thereby looking after the production, processing, and distribution of organic crops and finished items in order to bring unique products from community-based enterprises.

Ekgaon Technologies was built with the aim of:

• sustainable development of rural India.
• solving the problems encountered in agriculture.
• providing the service of Farm Advisory, which has progressed to the customization of these services with the market demand.
• introducing more innovative services in the market to target farmers as well as the entire supply chain

Currently, Delhi-based Ekgaon is working with 20,000 farmers across 465 villagesin Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. They provide a service called “Know your farmer”, where the client can understand the quality of products, farms where the product is cultivated, and other details related to farmers.

With the alarming rise in the pollution levels in all the basic necessities including soil, it was only a matter of time before which Organic farming would become a need, rather than just remaining an option. And, Mr. Vijay and Mr. Tapan realised it to perfection way back in 2003.

Putting chemicals in the soil is not only harmful to health but also destroys the nutritive value of the soil. It comes as no surprise that more and more people are getting plagued with diseases and a healthy lifestyle is slowly turning into an unachievable dream. The most important aspect is to educate the farmers regarding this issue. And, can it be done without the use of technology. A rigorous brainstorming finally led to the birth of Ekgaon Technologies.

EKGAON TECHNOLOGIES

The journey of Ekgaon Technologies has been incredible with the progress in organic farming. The company was started with the vision to help out farmers in reaching to their potential client base. As the name highlights, the company aims to connect Information Technology and Rural India for a better tomorrow. Sustainable development is dependent on factors such as sustainable economy, environment, and society.

“All Gram Swaraj” is the main mantra for building up sound economics.

They also visualize to help the farmers in overcoming problems such as power problem and irrigation facilities in the rural area. In the last 16 years, the company has progressed in building a strong customer base with the help of its “One Village One World Network”.

CUSTOMIZED ADVISORY SERVICE

With the brand expansion, EkGaon Technologies have started providing different types of services according to the requirements of the farmers. The company aims to build up a strong team to address the needs of the farmers. As the concerns vary from one farmer to another, it is essential to tackle situations differently. Mr. Vijay Pratap shares that their entry into the customized advisory service has started due to the feedback from the farmers.

With the help of customized advisory, they aim to guide farmers in a better way for enhanced productivity. Ekgaon’s delivery model is based on ‘When I Need’, which essentially means hand-holding the farmers during the cropping season, with a smart advisory that is aimed at increasing farm productivity and reducing cultivation costs.

HELPING FARMERS

The biggest achievement of EkGaon Technologies has been its ability to make the farmers understand the need for the proper treatment of seeds and imparting the knowledge of how to provide adequate care to organic crops.They guide the farmers about the market requirement and offer institutional innovation to help in connecting them with the market.

Currently, the company provides the following services for development of farms under the customized advisory plans, namely:

• Soil nutrition management
• Irrigation management
• Seed treatmen
• Disease and pest management
• Weather information services
• Farm activities and co-relation with Real-time data

ENTERING THE ONLINE MARKETPLACE

Last year, Ekgaon Technologies launched an online platform to sell the farmers’ produce at the right prices, under the brand ‘Ekgaon’. In a year, the platform has been able to sell over 5,000 products, 50 percent of which are sold to the existingcustomers. This has been a major boost and motivation for the company as the customers have started liking their platform.

More than 40 different products are sold – rice, flax seed, pulses, and millets, spices, sugar, and others. The farmers’ income, as a result of both the mobile-based advisory services as well as the marketplace, has seen an average increase of more than Rs 7,500 per month. This has brought an increase of about 50% in the farmers’ income in just a year.

FUTURISTIC GROWTH

Vijay highlights the need for constantly innovating the services provided by the company in order to sustain in the ever-evolving technological market. Agricultural financing is one of the innovations, where the company aims to tie up with different finance companies and farmer.

The service would be active in the upcoming months and the company believes that the tie-up would bring a boom in the Indian organic farming market. Currently, the company offers its services to regions of Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and parts of North-East. However, in the future they aim to expand its services in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Bengal. The innovation and expansion would help the rural India and thereby, the company in achieving sustainable growth.