Tag: Agribusiness

Jagmohan Singh Nagi

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Corn King of Punjab

Jagmohan Singh Nagi is an avid farmer and food producer who hails from Batala, Punjab. His father was a factory mechanic and always wanted him to get into the food industry. Kulwant Nutrition started in 1989 with a single plant and a small batch of corn and is now a thriving business with annual sales more than Rs 7 crore.

Contract farmer Jagmohan (now 63) cultivates 300 acres (about half the area of Central Park in New York City) of land, growing corn, mustard, wheat, and various vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, and beets. For this he is associating and working with 300 farmers in the Indian states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, supplying food to companies such as PepsiCo, Kellogg’s and Domino’s Pizza. Outside the US, he also ships to the UK, New Zealand, Dubai, and Hong Kong. Years before the partition, he and his family were Karachiites.

Before settling in Punjab, Mr Nagi, Jagmohan’s father, moved to Mumbai with his family. Despite the widespread need, there was an acute shortage of technicians to maintain the grain mills. Because of this, his father jumped at the chance. One of Jagmohan’s father’s goals was to get his son a job in the restaurant business. However, he went to Birmingham University in the UK to study grain milling and grain/food engineering as there were no suitable programs in Punjab at that time. Back in India, he established Kulwant Nutrition Farm. Things did not go well at first as he struggled to harvest enough corn without help. However, at that time there was not a good corn crop in Punjab, so their factory collapsed. Therefore, despite the astronomical cost of shipping from there, he started buying corn from the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh. He then worked with Punjab Agricultural University to connect the school with businesses to ensure a successful harvest. The institution has provided high-quality seeds to farmers, and Mr. Nagi said he often buys agricultural products from these farmers. There is an old saying that effort is never wasted. Kellogg’s was his first customer.

In 1991, Jagmohan started working as a contract farmer trying to learn how to farm on his own. Mr. Jagmohan began working at PepsiCo in 1992, producing corn for the Kurkure snack. He says he needed about 1,000 tons of corn a month. He has also been supplying Domino’s Pizza since 1994. Mr Jagmohan started growing and producing vegetables and other preserves in 2013.

Although his farming business was thriving, COVID presented several challenges. When the pandemic broke out, the supply chain was immediately affected by COVID. Grocery stores have remained open, although many other businesses have closed because they are considered a basic service. Therefore, Jagmohan Singh focused on basic products such as organic corn flour and wheat flour. He wants to cultivate mustard oil, grains and chia seeds.

His company employs 70 people and thanks to him, farmers and agricultural students receive free training. They teach farmers about the latest cultivation methods and profitable marketing strategies. He wants to spread his learnings from an anecdote, which explained that selling ghee and cottage cheese are more profitable alternatives to selling milk.

As Jagmohan put it, “Government must nurture and promote agricultural enterprises at the local level” if it wants to encourage young people to enter farming. Food and agricultural technology are also to be supported. He advises farmers that strictly following instructions is the best way to achieve good results and avoid financial losses. Instead of following trends, farmers should carefully select the crops that will grow well in their area. A step will greatly improve their bottom line.

Message for farmers 

Being a farmer himself, Mr Nagi encourages other farmers to learn as much as possible and try new things. Those who cultivate the land must prioritize profitable crops. Millet, vegetables, and fruit trees should surround these fields. Instead of selling raw milk, he advises farmers to process the milk into products like barfis and other Indian sweets.

Adnan Ali Khan

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A Token of gift from Kashmir

This is the story of a man who’s been ingrained with farming skills since his childhood. A fourth-generation farmer and entrepreneur from Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir, with ten years of national and international project management, agribusiness, product development, innovation, production, and planning management experience. Adnan Ali Khan has completed his B.E. in Industrial Production Engineering from Bharati Vidyapeeth University in Pune and his MBA in Marketing and HR from the Islamic University of Science and Technology in Awantipora, J&K.

He has started his startup, AL Kareem Souq Pvt. Ltd., with the brand name “TUFA,” in 2019 with a vision and mission to empower farmers in J&K. “TUFA “in Arabic means apple.

The main focus of his startup, “TUFA,” was to remove the middleman from the Agriculture and Horticulture value chain by branding, marketing, and selling products via online and offline modes directly to customers or business-to-business, which increased marginal farmers’ profit by 30% to 40%. Also, many other AgriTech startups will come forward to take the lead in this direction. The primary goal is to increase the value of Kashmiri products such as apples, walnuts, almonds, saffron, and others while making them more affordable to customers.

After conquering success in selling apples, he decided to innovatively package apples in J&K, which has encouraged him to introduce other premium products from Kashmir, like saffron, walnuts, almonds, shilajit, lavender oil, kahwa, and others, to the pan-Indian market.

Adnan Ali received a huge response from customers across the country and abroad. He not only manufactures but also brands, markets, and sells his products without the use of any middlemen. This model has increased the income of farmers, and their bargaining power has increased. The main goal was to create a startup ecosystem in J&K so that the agriculture and horticulture industries could reach new heights.

It occurred to him in 2010 while conducting research that farmers are exploited by middlemen, with farmers receiving only 20% of the price spread. Mr. Khan has a management background. He started doing research and found that there was a huge gap between the wholesale price and the retail price.

Adnan found that there is huge demand for Kashmiri products, which are premium products. Tufa started with small packs of apples and supplied them to supermarkets in Kashmir, and it was a huge hit with customers. Then he started with other products like saffron, walnut, almond, lavender oil, etc.

Adnan Ali Khan strives to achieve excellence in agro-product development by helping marginal farmers using the principles of equity, inclusion, and sustainability.

His mission is to become a successful agro-farmer at the national level by offering assistance to marginal agro-farmers in the exploration of market opportunities, the achievement of direct and seamless connectivity, and integration with the mainstream market through technological intervention.

“TUFA” is truly a gift from nature, as all products are natural and straight from the farm, with no adulteration or preservatives. Most products have mineral, nutritional, and medicinal value, like walnut, almond, saffron, lavender oil, etc. The bright side is that organic products are 30% less expensive than other brands in the market. The quality is unmatched.

List of products

  • Apple, Walnut, Almond, Saffron, Shilajit, Lavender Oil, Gulkand,
  • Figs, Cranberry, Blue Berry, Rajma Dal,
  • Kahwa Tea, Honey, Masala Tikki, Red Chilli Powder,
  • Lavender Tea, Apricot, Walnut Oil, Almond Oil, Apple Pickle, Apple Chutney, etc.

Khan has been lucky in starting his initiative, as he was supported by everyone during his journey. His family and mentors have been a constant source of support. Also, his initiative was supported & praised by many dignitaries, like NIAM Jaipur, Vice Chancellor SKUAST Kashmir, Vice Chancellor IUST Kashmir, Director CIED IUST, and Director General Horticulture Kashmir. Among those present were the Hon’ble Lt. Governor of J&K, UT President Shri Manoj Sinha, and J&K farmers.

Future Aim

His plan is to create a franchise model for selling premium Kashmiri products. Adnan will have a pan-India presence, and we will try to introduce more unique products from Kashmir. He wishes to be live on, Flipkart, and Amazon so that he can serve all customers. He is also attempting to establish physical stores across India through the franchise model. He wants to grow his business at the pan-India level.

Challenges

There are many personal challenges that Adnan faced  in terms of initial investment, lack of knowledge, and expertise. During COVID-19, all operations were halted. Now things have eased out, and we are moving in the right direction.

Adnan Ali expresses his desire to make ‘TUFA’ the first unicorn from J&K in the next 10 years. He wants to provide a platform for marginal farmers to sell their produce directly to customers without the intervention of a middleman. He believes that every day he is working towards his purpose of creating a brand for premium Kashmiri products that will offer quality products at a reasonable price.

Message for Farmers

Farmers must be self-assured, establish their own businesses, sell their own products, and eliminate the middleman from the agribusiness value chain. We must work hard to achieve the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India’s goal of doubling the income of every farmer.

Anita Goyal

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Journey of a Passionate Woman from a Common Housewife to Renowned Personality- Zaika Ma’am

Earlier in India, after marriages, most of the women never have the confidence to pursue their hobbies and interest as their career and they just use to sit at home and do their house chores. The reasons which come in support of not pursuing their interests was societal pressure, family pressure, conservative society, financial crisis, family responsibilities and much more. But there were still some women who could not be stopped by anyone. And for those women this line natch the best – Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.

Such a woman who has always been an inspiration for women’s society is Anita Goel. Anita Goyal is a successful entrepreneur from a town in Ludhiana called Jagraon. She is very popular in her hometown for her cooking classes and is leading her business under the brand name called Zaika Cooking Classes. She also teaches painting and embroidery to her students, and all her students are from young age girls in their teens to elderly ladies. Her passion for cooking has led to spread her name so far that she is known as ZAIKA MA’AM in her city. She also became a member of Kisan Club in PAU in 2009 and till then she is conducting cooking classes in PAU regularly. All her students are very passionate about taking cooking lessons from her and listens to her very calmly whenever she start taking her lesson.

Well, all this success, prosperity and name is not achieved so easily. It all started in 1986 after her marriage. She was married in a family, where till now no woman has put a step outside the house and done any kind of work outside the house. But she was the first one. Her husband was an advocate by profession, so basically, their family was financially sound and there was no need for her to lay hands and work. But it was her passion, which led her to this level of achievement, she has gained today. She is currently living with her happy and complete family (husband, two sons, one daughter, two daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren) in Jagraon and also managing her daily business and teaching schedules along with her younger son. For her, her family is the greatest strength who supported her all this way and never discourage her from what she was doing.

It is said that to be great you need to start from the small and same did Mrs. Anita Goyal. She earned Rs. 750 per month from her first job, to which her husband objected in the beginning and for her also it was very difficult to manage everything (cost of cooking ingredients, convenience, personal use) in that little amount. She faced many hurdles and hitches in starting her own business. Even though she has lost a lot in life, but she never gets demotivated and always kept her zeal and enthusiasm alive. After working very hard, she finally got her break through and she officially opened her cooking classes and today she is successfully running her own business.

For her, cooking is like dispensing happiness, and the thing that makes her cooking skills unique and special from others is healthiness and wellness quotient of the food products made by her. She makes every type of bakery products, pickles, chutneys, 17 types of spices, 3 types of instant mix spices and also 3 types of instant sweet dishes mix (thandai, phirni and kheer) . She use flour (flour is made from hard wheat) instead of refined flour (cake flour or Maida in Hindi) while baking bread, muffins, pizza base, cakes of different flavor, coconut castle, cupcakes, biscuits and other bakery products. And in her pickles, she never adds any kind of added preservatives except salt, sugar, and oil; because according to her, salt, sugar and oil are natural preservatives in themselves. Everything made by her is very healthy and natural. She makes so delicious pickles that, even demands comes from abroad for her pickles. She says that, if you are giving the best then you will definitely stand out from the rest.

She also has a little kitchen garden in her backyard, where she grows turmeric, green chili, and other seasonal vegetables for her home use. She is in her sixties, but from her active participation and involvement in different events, exhibitions, and business, it seems that she is going to prosper more and achieve greatly in future. Mrs. Anita Goyal’s hobby and passion for cooking has helped her in making her own identity in the society and earn well. Currently, she is planning to take her business to the next level and open an official shop where she can sell all her products easily.

Message by Mrs. Anita Goyal-
“According to her- No work is small or big, if you really want to make a change, all you need is immense determination and willpower to push through. You have to be strong-willed, only then you can achieve what you want. A woman can only bring change in her life with her own strength and not excuses. Women should make their own identity in the society and get recognized for their skill and talent, not just their husband’s name because it feels very proud when your family gets recognized because of you.”

Amarjit Bhattal

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Know about an Ex-Army Officer Who Turned into an Agripreneur & Is Bringing Revolution in the Field Of Agribusiness

Nowadays, very few people see a future for themselves in the field of agriculture. And the era in which we are living, most of the people are attracted towards the bright lights of the big cities. And when it comes to life after retirement, then people generally prefer to live an easy and comfortable lifestyle in which they have to do nothing, just sit at home, read the newspaper, spend time with grandchildren, do little exercising and that’s it. There are very few people who are concerned about nature and fulfil their responsibility and try to give back to the soil, that the soil has provided them all their life.

Well, one such person who is fulfilling his responsibility towards the Mother Nature and has made that responsibility as his hobby of farming and a way of relaxation is, Ex-army Officer- Mr. Amarjit Singh Bhattal. Leaving all his luxuries he is living with his father and wife in a small village of Ludhiana- Banohar (Banohad) and running a small shop with the name “JATT SAUDA”.

Well, many people have shops and retail stores along with the road, so what is that special in JATT SAUDA? The thing that makes “JATT SAUDA” unique and different from others is the organically produced vegetable, lentils, fruits and spices from his own farm which is just behind the shop. So basically, he has an “ON-ROAD FARM MARKET” where you can buy everything fresh and organic. Moreover, he also has a small poultry farm where he has around 100 chickens (desi murgiyan). The number of chickens keeps on going up and down, but the demand for the desi eggs never goes down and are sold as soon as they reach his store’s rack.

He started organic farming in December of 2012, after taking training from Kheti Virasat Mission. And from that day till now, he is so actively involved in farming that, from morning till evening, he spends all his time in the farm store and his father is always there to accompany him. It’s like the father-son duo is nurturing the small piece of land like their own child.

He has given a very rustic touch to his small shop, where you can see all the fresh seasonal veggies displayed on a side and garlic hanging from the roof. In his shop, there is a way towards the backyard which leads to his small farm where you can find small plantings of okra, ridge gourd, tomatoes, bitter melon, pigeon pea, different types of lettuce and many more vegetables. According to him, you can see the best view of his farm in the early morning or evening because at that time you can see the best natural colors of nature emerged with the farm beauty. Poultry farm is at one corner of his farm where you can see a dog tied with the hook. All in all, his whole farm will give you an ideal view of a perfect farm. He has 2 to 3 helper, which help him in farm work.

Amarjit Singh completed his M.Sc. degree from Punjab University, Chandigarh, and serving the country was one of the career choices of his life. Before farming, Mr. Amarjit Singh had one more profession and that was a consultant in an immigration firm, at that time he used to counsel children, talk to them and discuss them about their thinking and perspective for their life aims and goals. Moreover, he was also a popular advisor of Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Even after achieving all these prominent titles in his previous life, today, he is not proud of anything. He believes in simple living and respecting the Mother Nature, and by doing organic farming he is trying to do his side of effort in conserving the nature and providing healthy food to the community.

Amarjit Singh has also an unseen talent. From his college days, he was leaned towards literature and was very fond of Leo Tolstoy’s work. He is also a very keen writer and now also whenever he gets time from the farming, he writes about his thoughts and thinking.

After having the conversation with him, he discussed his views on the poor consumer’s demands and according to him – “Nowadays consumer demand is very unhealthy. With the advanced technologies and modern ways of preserving the food, today you can shop and eat peas and carrot in summers and bottle gourd in winters. As we know that vegetables are an important part of human’s diet and each season offers an array of beautiful fresh produce, so if you include more organic seasonal fruits and veggies in your palate, then it will be more beneficial. Because by adding seasonal fruits in the diet you can enjoy the better taste of the veggies with higher nutritional values, without any chemicals, and it will also support the body’s need according to the season. He also said that the day consumer will be aware of the benefits of organic food, from that day the demand of organic veggies and fruits will increase. And to increase the awareness, farmers and consumers interaction is very much necessary.”

On his own behalf, he tries to make the people aware about the organic farming and he has also given presentations to school children on the importance of organic farming and foods. Currently, he is just planning to continue organic farming and make more people aware about benefits of organic farming.

In future, he is planning to:

• Upgrade the infrastructure of his on-road farm market

• Build up a net house in 2000 yards

• Give a protective environment to the crops in his farm

• Install hybrid system of irrigation

• Increase water storage


Message by Amarjit Singh Bhattal
“He has given a very wise message to today’s farmers- “You can’t control the product price and can be dependent on the government, you should do what is in your hands. The farmer should try to control the input cost and start doing organic farming as it requires less monetary input. A time will come when people will realize that conventional farming is not going to fulfil their demands. So, it’s better to understand the rising need of the hour and start acting according to it.”