Live farm fresh
Swati Rai
It all started when 29-year-old Ashmeet Kapoor traversed the country on a journey with Tata Jagriti Yatra. He realised that though there were farmers practicing organic ways of tilling the land, yet a platform to market and sustain their produce was missing.
After experimenting by leasing a farmland on his own, Ashmeet took the plunge to form his company, ‘I Say Organic’, in 2012, ‘with the mission to make organic food easily accessible while helping farmers grow safe food.’
To begin with, Ashmeet started with vegetables and fruits despite the logistical challenges. He ensures that the farmers are paid lucrative prices so that organic farming is viable, both economically and environmentally. Working with nine farmer groups amounting to more than 3,000 farmers across the country, Ashmeet now procures and delivers a wide range of fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, and sweeteners from farm to door.
According to Ashmeet, “By making organic foods easily accessible, I feel that the demand will grow, prices will drop, and since it will be profitable for the farmers. It will drive further growth towards ecological agriculture. With the progress, we’ve made so far, our farmers are earning 40 per cent more than they were earlier.”
Partnering with farmers is also one area which Ashmeet personally looks after to ensure that proper standards are adhered to when dealing with the farmers.
He regularly visits them to gauge their motivation besides understanding their specific practices and examining cropping patterns that are followed.
He adds, “The team also has extensive discussions with local partners (farmers, NGO’s, or farmer collective representatives) and their field workers. We also independently perform random residue testing on our products once every quarter.”
Ashmeet’s approach to organic food begins from healthy, nutrient-rich and balanced soil. Organic farming methods help keep the soil alive by using organic matter rich in vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants.
Respecting cycles of nature, it promotes biodiversity, saves topsoil, conserves water and prevents environmental contamination. The use of synthetic fertilisers or chemicals is completely banned on organic farms, along with genetically modified seeds, sewage, and heavy metal contaminated water.
The produce is also handled in isolation with conventional food during transportation, handling and storage. Ashmeet sums up and says, “By strict adherence to standards, besides proper monitoring, we ensure that our products are 100 per cent safe and organic.”
Talking about the future, Ashmeet says, “I aim to have presence in six cities, serving 200,000 households. We are partnering with 10 online and offline retail stores and managing their organic fresh produce section with a countrywide presence of packaged non-perishable products!”
Clearly this Good Samaritan is set to drive the shift towards ecological and just agriculture, ensuring at the same time that organic agriculture is a profitable venture for farmers. I say organic, do you?
