Within the coronary heart of India’s fertile plains, a silent wrestle unfolds. Farmers, the spine of the nation’s meals safety, toil tirelessly, but typically reap meager rewards. The cycle of poverty, perpetuated by exploitative middlemen and insufficient help techniques, casts an extended shadow over rural communities.
Regardless of rising peanuts for a number of a long time, 65-year-old Ram Khilawan is usually left with poor yields on account of an absence of sources and entry to high quality seeds. “We purchase seeds from the market, however the high quality is poor, so the peanuts don’t develop nicely,” he shares. “The value we get for them is dismal.”
Amidst this agrarian gloom, a 29-year-old entrepreneur from Unnao, Aman Kumar, armed with a ‘nutty’ thought and a relentless spirit, has emerged as a beacon of hope.
With a pc purposes diploma in hand, Aman graduated in 2016, able to embark on his skilled journey. Nevertheless, uncertain of his subsequent steps, he ventured into the worldwide market, taking up freelance internet design and improvement tasks.
“This uncovered me to the workings of the enterprise world, and shortly, that bug of entrepreneurship was set in my thoughts,” he tells The Higher India.
He set his sights on an MBA, making ready diligently for the CAT examination. “I received into Symbiosis School in Pune, however the payment was too excessive, so I needed to search for different choices. That’s once I got here throughout the ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ programme at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),” he shares.
At TISS, Aman’s perspective shifted dramatically. He was uncovered to groundbreaking social enterprises and the urgent challenges confronted by rural farmers, significantly in his hometown of Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. This newfound consciousness, coupled along with his entrepreneurial spirit, ignited a spark inside him. The consequence? ‘Nutty Village’ — a enterprise devoted to empowering native farmers and offering customers with high-quality, homegrown merchandise.
Humble beginnings
Earlier than embarking on his journey at TISS in 2018, Aman had already dipped his toes into entrepreneurship. He launched ‘Recent-ily’, a farm-to-door supply service, the place clients may place orders on-line for contemporary produce. Aman would then supply these merchandise instantly from native farmers and markets, delivering them promptly to clients’ doorsteps.
“I constructed my very own web site and didn’t require any capital or infrastructure to do that enterprise. Folks would pay me the evening earlier than, and I might do the work the very subsequent day,” he says. However this enterprise, whereas handy and low-cost, confronted vital challenges in scaling up on account of competitors from bigger market gamers.
Concurrently, Aman explored different avenues, together with promoting contemporary juice made with a family-owned chilly press machine and experimenting with small-scale hydroponic farming. Nevertheless, these ventures didn’t develop past a sure level.
Impressed by the potential of social entrepreneurship and motivated by the challenges confronted by farmers in his dwelling area, Aman took a big leap. He determined to dedicate himself full-time to this trigger, collaborating with native farmers in Unnao.
“Greater than anything, I noticed companies like Phool, a Kanpur-based model that was simply beginning out on the time, doing nice work. That gave me the boldness to imagine that if somebody from my a part of the world may create one thing like that, so may I,” he shares.
Recognising the peanut disaster
Throughout an internship in Maharashtra, Aman had gained firsthand insights into the systemic points plaguing the agricultural sector. In Unnao, he and Nutty Village co-founder, Sushant Berma, observed the distinctive high quality of regionally grown peanuts. This sparked their curiosity, main them to delve deeper into the challenges confronted by peanut farmers within the area.
“In the future, whereas sitting at dwelling and consuming peanuts, we began speaking about their nice high quality. So, we determined to exit and do a little analysis to see what was occurring on the bottom,” says Sushant.
However one main problem confronted by Unnao’s groundnut farmers was the extraordinarily low costs they acquired for his or her produce. These farmers have been compelled to promote their groundnuts for a mere Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kilogram, with none authorities help or insurance coverage.
The shortage of recognition in agricultural surveys lists additional exacerbated the difficulty. In consequence, these farmers have been disadvantaged of important help programmes, hindering their means to earn a good value for his or her onerous work.
Aman’s analysis unveiled a possible answer: empowering farmers to undertake main processing themselves. By dealing with duties like shelling, sorting, and grading, farmers may considerably improve their earnings by 50-60%. To grasp this imaginative and prescient, Aman submitted a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) in search of help for establishing a producer group devoted to main processing.
In response to Aman’s proposal, the Authorities supplied a grant that allowed farmers to arrange services for shelling, sorting, and grading groundnuts. This main processing would allow farmers to retain a better portion of the earnings. By working collectively, the farmers may enhance the standard of their produce and entry higher costs.
What began as a contemporary produce supply service in 2020 developed into Nutty Village in 2022. With a imaginative and prescient to empower farmers, Nutty Village goals to assist them set up their very own processing models, instantly sourcing high-quality produce at honest costs. “We champion each the distinctive merchandise these farmers create and the rising demand for plant-based proteins, significantly by means of our peanut butters,” says Aman.
Uplifting rural communities
As soon as the farmers had arrange their main processing models, Aman began buying the processed groundnuts at Rs 100-120 per kilogram, relying on the standard, a lot greater than the earlier costs they have been getting. “As a result of the first processing is now performed by these farmers, in addition they have their very own seeds to place again into harvesting the crop for the subsequent season,” Aman explains.
“We first met Aman when he wished to debate how we may all work collectively for higher earnings. He introduced us seeds and we labored on determining the perfect farming strategies,” says Manish Singh, a 36-year-old farmer from Unnao. “Earlier than, we didn’t get our soil examined. I didn’t even know that was one thing you’re speculated to do. Checking and regulating the pH ranges, nitrogen phosphate, and carbon 16 ranges — we didn’t do any of that,” he provides.
To achieve scientific perspective, Aman linked them with Dr Kishan Chandra, a scientist specialising in natural farming, waste administration, and bio-fertiliser manufacturing. “We learnt tips on how to make a decomposer answer — which is a combination with water and important vitamins that helps kill pests,” Manish explains.
“We make that answer in 200 liters of water. The outcomes have been fairly good. The yield has improved, the soil has grow to be softer, and the pH of our soil, which was 8.5, is now right down to 7.5. We’re all working very onerous to make it even higher,” he provides.
As soon as the first processing infrastructure was established, Aman envisioned a future past mere uncooked materials provide. “I began secondary processing as a result of I wished to take this enterprise to newer heights,” he explains. Recognising the rising demand for clear, preservative-free peanut butter in city areas, he launched into creating his personal distinctive product. After months of experimentation, he formulated a wholesome peanut butter that will enchantment to health-conscious customers.
With the help of a grant from the Uttar Pradesh Authorities and a contribution of Rs 1.5 lakh from Anuj Sharma, a professor at TISS, Aman was in a position to buy the mandatory equipment and begin producing peanut butter. “We’re selling the native peanut selection, meals safety, and transparency in our substances,” Aman says.
However Nutty Village’s dedication to empowering rural communities didn’t cease there. To additional improve ladies’s participation, they collaborated with the Nationwide Rural Livelihood Mission to type Self-Assist Teams (SHGs). These SHGs supplied ladies with entry to peanut shelling machines, coaching them within the obligatory abilities to contribute to the secondary processing of groundnuts.
Chandkali, a 60-year-old member of the self-help group, displays on how her life has modified by means of their collective efforts. “Earlier than, I principally labored at dwelling. The societal construction didn’t permit ladies to be out incomes, and plenty of like me didn’t also have a telephone,” she shares. Nevertheless, the chance to work with Nutty Village and being concerned in secondary processing, has empowered her in sudden methods. “At any time when Aman calls us for work with peanuts, we go, and we earn a great quantity. The group I’m in appears like a group, like a union. Once we get work, all of us profit,” she says.
Whereas many should journey to close by cities for greater wages, Chandkali is content material to remain near dwelling. “We make 300 rupees per day right here. If I needed to go far for work, being a lady, I wouldn’t have been in a position to,” she provides.
Conquering the hurdles to success
Aman and his workforce’s journey was not with out challenges. From persuading farmers to embrace new agricultural methods to navigating advanced bureaucratic processes, they encountered quite a few obstacles. One vital hurdle was securing an electrical energy connection for his or her equipment unit, which concerned navigating a labyrinth of bureaucratic purple tape.
“We now have electrical energy connection, license, high quality management, however loads of it’s as a result of I’m CSIR incubated. I made loads of connections again in school and once I was working for Recent-ily, However the farmers can’t do this for themselves. Even when they do need to begin or scale their enterprise, they’ll’t pay Rs 60,000 simply to get an electrical energy connection. This wants to alter at a coverage stage,” Aman says.
“With us too, we received loads of grants, however it might take seven to eight months for the opposite installments to return in. As a founder, I can stretch out a couple of months however I can’t count on my workforce of farmers to only anticipate funding that was promised to us,” says Aman, reflecting on the stress of managing money circulate in the course of the early phases of the enterprise.
However regardless of these hurdles, Nutty Village has witnessed exceptional progress lately. Income surged from Rs 60,000 in 2022 to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2023, and is projected to achieve Rs 13-15 lakh in 2024.
This transformation is a testomony to the facility of collaboration and modern options. “By getting higher costs for every kilogram of peanuts we promote, we’re in a position to see an actual enchancment in our seasonal revenue,” Aditya Sengar, a 26-year-old farmer from Unnao, says. “Working with individuals who have seen the world, and studied these items has additionally helped us usher in contemporary concepts to farming, study trendy methods, and open up new alternatives.”
To additional develop their affect, Nutty Village is collaborating with the Chief Improvement Officer to map 500 hectares of land for a proposed peanut farming cluster. This initiative won’t solely present farmers with recognition but additionally provide essential help companies. As soon as recognised as a cluster, farmers will acquire higher entry to markets, strengthening their place and enabling them to attain higher prosperity. At present, the producer group contains 50 farmers, however the bold cluster improvement plan goals to unite 2,000 farmers, creating a strong collective drive.
“The largest challenge we see world wide is that farmers aren’t getting a honest value for his or her produce. And it’s not nearly peanuts — no matter they develop, they don’t get a good value. This has been one of many largest ache factors we’ve noticed. We’re not claiming that we’ve mounted the issue, however inside our capability, we’re serving to farmers mobilise, create clusters, and safe the incentives which can be put in place for them,” says Sushant.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee, Picture courtesy Aman Kumar
