Bengaluru-Based Firm Empowering Tribal Farmers to Practice Organic Farming

Alswamitra Botanicals LLP, based in Bengaluru, has launched an initiative in tribal hamlets in South India to standardize the yield and quality of organic crops such as turmeric and millets by distributing seeds from an NGO and then buying them back to distribute to other farmers.

However, the firm also insists that the growers form a farmer producers organization (FPO) because it will not only help them increase their bargaining power but will also allow them to share their knowledge within the group. Alswamitra has joined the NGO Sahaja Seeds, the country's first farmer-owned organic seed company, for this purpose. The NGO works to revitalize indigenous seeds and has a seed bank with tens of thousands of seeds. For example, it contains seeds from over 29,000 different varieties of rice.

Alswamitra, which is run on a pro bono basis by a few corporate employees, distributes these seeds in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andaman and Nicobar. According to Neil Thomas, Director of Alswamitra, the seeds are distributed following the signing of a proper contract with them. The contract is based on a template recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

"Growers have the ability to set their own prices. Growers can pay in cash or in seeds for the seed we supply in advance. They only need to think about repayment during harvest because the seeds are provided as a loan," he explained.

"There is no interest charged for providing the seeds in advance. However, we prefer to get the returns in seeds," the firm’s director said. 

The seeds that have been propagated and returned are then distributed to other farmers who are willing to work with the firm. "This has two advantages. One, uniformly high-quality organic produce is produced. The quality of the seeds is maintained as they are distributed to other willing farmers. Second, the varieties selected are high-yielding. As a result, more farmers will be able to grow high-yielding organic varieties of millet or turmeric," he said.

Farmers must first form the FPO before receiving the seeds. In fact, the Alswamitra initiative, which began 18 years ago, was inspired by doctor couple George and Lalitha Regi, who worked in the Sittilingi Valley in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, during the 1990s. In 1993, they established the Tribal Health Initiative.

By 2009, the movement had resulted in the formation of the Sittlingi Organic Farmers' Association (SOFA), with its members agreeing that their produce would be organic and that they would consume 50% of their production.

"As a result, farmers grew traditional crops such as millets, which required less water and were traditionally eaten." Turmeric was grown as a cash crop to generate income, and any surplus produced after self-consumption was sold. "This was a brilliant move—traditional farmers got enough food and money from their livelihood," Thomas said.

It was a welcome change for the tribal farmers, who had been struggling with a turmeric variety with a low yield. Alswamitra invested in the Pratibha turmeric seed and distributed it to farmers in the case of turmeric.

"They were given the option of returning the seeds or selling them to a private company." "The private firm paid a higher price for the turmeric because it contained more curcumin and curcumin oil," the Alswamitra director explained. The Sittilingi Valley Organic Farmers Producer Company Limited was formed in November 2015, with the majority of shareholders being women from the valley's women's entrepreneurship groups. The company was formed to handle growing sales and market its products.

"Our initiative promotes rural women entrepreneurs and small-scale farmers. Our success has been in creating FPOs and then looking at the farmers' growing patterns," he said.

Alswamitra also wants growers to sell their produce directly to consumers. "They don't have a marketing entity for their produce. They lack direct access to retail outlets and must instead rely on middlemen."

This is where the Alswamitra enters the picture. "We buy the produce, pay the growers 25% more, and sell it on digital platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and others. We had launched another initiative to market these products under the Grain Forest brand," Thomas explained.

The brand connects 12,000 farmers with health, environmental, and socially conscious consumers. "The brand's creation has also assisted the firm in creating work and income opportunities for tribal and local women in processing and packing," he said. Alswamitra, a limited liability partnership (LLP), also ensures that 40% of profits from the sale of organic produce under the Grain Forest brand are returned to the tribal farming community.

The company chose to be a limited liability partnership (LLP) because it wanted to be sustainable while operating like a corporation. "We're working on getting trade certification." It is also attempting to become a B Corp, which is a US format for recognising non-profit organisations. "Getting a B Corp registration is much more valuable in Europe and the United States," Thomas explained.