N.B. Nair
The glam and glitter of the television industry is the destination of any mass media student, be it on-screen or off-screen. It gives them a sense of power as they rub the shoulders with the movers and shakers of every walk of life. If it is in the television news industry, it is even better as they derive influence from newsmakers.
Not all media aspirant reaches the level of prominence in the present media ecosystem. Since the economic slowdown in 2008, the Indian television industry lost its charm as a high-profile placement sector. There was insecurity across, as the industry started trimming its workforce. It also lost its magical powers of protection, with the entry of more and more corporate controlling the media.
Atul Kumar Pandey from Kotabagh in Nanital district of Uttarkahand witnessed the high and low tides in the television industry. But the future looked unpredictable and insecure. So, he took a call – a call close to his heart and nature, at the same time one that gives him sustenance.
“This insecurity probably forced me to look for something more stable that I would have enjoyed doing even after retiring, had I been in active service,” Pandey told Inspirational India.
“The hills have always lured me. While most people went on foreign vacations, I would instead slip into the quiet frosty lanes of my village in Uttarakhand and plan a trek to the basecamps of snowy peaks or to the numerous lakes and beautiful valleys. So, I decided to kill two birds with one shot – took up the challenge to till our land and take up organic farming in the hills. This would give me the stability I needed and suit my passion for the hills,” he explained.
Pandey decided to take up organic farming on his family land in Raniket, in the adjoining district of Almora.
Though farmers with small or marginal holdings never followed organic farming in the strict sense for several reasons. They felt in organic farming, the yield would be less and thus, less income.
Secondly, farmers are not sure about the market for their produce, how to fix competitive prices for their produce, etc. For regular crops, there is a price support system by the government and markets or mandis in every district, in the case of organic crops no such protection exists.
This dilemma is not just for farmers alone; the general public too is not aware of the right farm produce for a healthy living. With growing awareness about health, people are now gradually understanding the benefits of organic food.
As most Indians find the spiraling food prices a strain on their resources, they look for cheaper options, not quality products, or healthy food. Secondly, they perceive organic is too expensive. “It is not. It is a bit expensive, because of the yield is less compared to those grown with fertilisers. But the advantages are many,” averred Pandey talking about organic food products.
Pandey’s Deerghayu Organics came up with the concept of ‘healthy food, healthy living’ and started connecting the farmers to consumers to directly. Gradually he was able to convince farmers around the region about the advantages of organic farming.
“We started by asking farmers to switch to organic crops that would fetch them better prices in the open market. We ourselves would buy these products from each farmer, paying them a slightly better price than what is offered in the local or district mandis. Since we collect their produce from their doorstep, they also save on transport,” he explained how he could break the ice.
Once the products are collected, it is brought to Deerghayu’s processing unit in Raniket, cleaned, peeled, and sundried as dried products have a longer shelf-life for storage.
“Our products are available in solid dry form and powder form. We powder the products on demand and package them suitably. This helps in retaining the essential minerals, colour, flavour, odour, essential oils etc. of the product for a longer period,” Atul explained the process.
Pandey claimed, the food market is very complex with all kinds of adulterations or lesser quality products. “Getting anything pure is almost impossible.” Most products in the market are left over from extraction units. For example, curcumin and essential oils are removed from the turmeric and the leftover is packed in attractive packs and marketed. Likewise, it is the same for products like ginger, garlic, coriander etc.
“Our products are 100 percent pure; we add nothing and we remove nothing. We just dry and pack or dry, powder and pack,” he affirmed.
“We have a dairy wherein we have desi A2 cows. Now from our experience, I can tell you that it takes 23 to 27 liters of cow milk (depending on the stage of lactation) to produce 1 liter of Ghee or clarified butter. If you calculate the expenses and maintenance of a cow and then amortise it with milk production, it is almost Rs. 100-105 for a litre. To make 1 liter of ghee you need milk worth Rs.2500/- . Add to this, other overhead costs – manpower, fuel, packaging, and transport, which would be an additional Rs. 100-150 per litre. This be the case; how can one get 1 litre of ghee for Rs. 600/- or Rs. 700/-? This just does not add up,” explained Pandey.
Pandey, being a media professional, utilizes the tools available before him to market the produce of Deerghayu. He uses social media, websites, and other e-commerce platforms to participate in national and international agriculture expos. They also have a team to connect with organic stores, nutritionists, Indian medicine manufacturers, mega kitchens etc.
Though his agripreneurship is struggling to make both ends meet, there is steady improvement in sales and the graph is northbound. The media professional-turned-organic farmer is now planning to broad base his operations.
“Currently we are only growing, processing, and packaging Himalayan herbs and spices, Himalayan lentils, and grains. We also market Himalayan honey and A2 cow ghee. Now the quantity produced is not huge and caters to just a fraction of society.
We plan to get more farmers to join in so the quantities can increase manifolds and a larger chunk of society can benefit from it. We also need to diversify into other items widely used in Indian homes,” hoped Pandey.
Image courtesy: Deerghayu Organics