VIDHI GODANI
Aparna .
Preethi Pradeep
Ziyadali Amlani
Lavanya Sangwan
Mayank Sharma
Goa Institute of Management
Divya Singhal
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Gramya Ventures started with a vision to provide market access to agricultural products produced by farmers. The business has three core principles, “people, planet, and profit,” which are the core pillars of its business. Gramya provides market intelligence to farmers and technical assistance to help grow and package the farmers’ produce. The planet is the central pillar of Gramya ventures, as the business started with the product, which is the native crop of Indian millet. Millet is the crop that helps achieve sustainability for the planet as it can be grown in less fertile soil and does not require harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow. The mother earth millets also need less water to grow than 1kg of rice production, which requires around 3000-4000 liters of water, and millets require about 250-300 liters of water. The millets also have high nutritional value than their other alternative wheat and rice. The two founders have built sustainable business models that do not require third-party funding.
The business model helps in solving the various UN SDGs. Some of them are
a) Good health and well-being - providing food grains free from harmful fertilizers and good for health.
b) Responsible consumption and production - of the crop requires less water and minimal irrigation facilities, which helps in saving water for sustainable business practices
c) Zero Hunger - especially 2.3 double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers
They solved the problem of marketing and selling the product at a pan-India level. Farmers' cooperative associations have expertise in producing high-yielding quality crops but need to gain expertise in selling the crop. They built a platform to buy their products wholesale and sell them to other businesses like FMCG companies that use that product as raw material in their production chain. They also sell the products directly to consumers in the retail segment. The company has provided a link between significant wholesale farmers' associations and businesses and consumers. The company only deals with a specific variety of millets and grains. The focused approach keeps the quality levels high of the product.
Instead of venturing into production know-how, the company built a logistics and supply chain solutions model for the farmers' collective. Solving the logistics issue means farmers don't have to worry about the product getting rotten and going to waste. The company is contributing towards building food safety for all and working on SDG 2, Zero Hunger as they are connecting farmers and using sustainable agriculture practices, SDG 3, Good health and well-being, as the crops are a high-yielding variety which is good for health and SDG 12, responsible consumption and production by providing infrastructure for the farmers' collective to increase their reach to all over India and ensure healthy food habits for all.
Hitesh Warathe hails from a small village in Madhya Pradesh, so he knows farmers' plight in those regions. When he was a child, his father left the village and moved out to fulfill the family's needs. His family income was not adequate to meet the needs of a family of six, as his father's income from agriculture was insufficient.
This triggered the founders to do something for those farmers: increase their wealth and make it adequate to sustain their families. While his co-founder, Mr. Jaspal Singh, hails from a village so rich in agricultural land in Punjab. He is a farmer's son, and he has closely monitored farmers' plight all his life. Their background made them empathetic towards farmers and persuaded them to do something for them. They were aware of the problems the farmers around them faced, including lack of awareness, significant yield and income, and improper infrastructure. The founder states, "I wanted to do something for my village so that my people don't have to move out of their homes to support their meager incomes from agriculture." He wants to create sufficient opportunities and better infrastructure to attain better yields in the agriculture sector.
There were instances where a farmer used to sell jaggery blocks weighing around 10-12 kg, and through Gramya's help, they started selling small jaggery blocks weighing around 1-2 kg. This almost made his profit double as earlier he was selling jaggery worth rupees 15-16 lakhs, and later the number went to 30-32 lakhs. He said, "I want to make this story a thousand farmers' stories."
To compete with oily and unhealthy products, which are consumed more than healthy variables these days, Gramya invented Millet Poha. This proved to be a great innovation and value addition to Millet's crop.
Some of the short-term and long-term effects of Gramya's various innovations were:
1. Raising awareness for crops like Millet as it's less demanding as it requires 0% fertilizer and proves good for the soil and your health.
2. They firmly stand for their 3 P's, i.e., People, Planet, and Profit. Thus, we care for the health of our fellow human beings and our mother earth.
3. Motivating other entrepreneurs coming from small cities to achieve their goals. Gramya came into existence as the founder and co-founder belonging to small cities of India with big dreams.
4. Most of the GDP of India comes from Agriculture. Thus, bringing about innovations in this sector will help our fellow farmers and the whole country. Farmers have hugely benefited from their efforts in raising awareness of the health benefits of jaggery. Their high point was when farmers could sell 30L worth of jaggery compared to the previous 15L.
5. Their efforts contribute to the rural development of India and bring it to parity with urban India.
Gramya started its operations in Nagpur and has grown to Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and is planning to expand further. From struggling to sell 400kgs of Millets, Gramya has come a long way, achieving steady growth and are targeting 60-70lacs in revenue this year(2022-23) and has forecasts of earning a revenue of 2 crores. Gramya is motivated to help all farmers in the country and wants them to reap more benefits from their hard work. Gramya assists the farmers with market analysis and price discovery and strives to give them a better margin of at least 15% on their produce. Millets are far more nutritious compared to rice and also require a lot less water to be produced, Gramya ventures have started to target the ‘Rice Poha’ market in places by manufacturing ‘Millets Poha’ which is manufactured in a similar way to ‘Rice Poha’ but is healthier and better for the environment too as producing Millets is more sustainable. The company has also ventured into producing snacks made from ‘jawari,’ ‘ragi’, and ‘bajra’ that can compete with deep oil fried products available in the market. Gramya believes with such constant value addition to the produce; the profit realization goes up by 50% for the farmers.
This innovation is benefitting farmers and the rural population. It provides farmers with sustainable agriculture practices for better economic opportunities. It is driving the health & wellness revolution ahead by creating access to nutrition at prices everyone can afford. It also contributes to regaining the ecological balance while rejuvenating the agriculture space by promoting sustainable agriculture practices.
It raises awareness for crops like Millet as it's less demanding, requires 0% fertilizer, and proves good for the soil and your health. It motivates other entrepreneurs from small cities to work for their dream and positively impact society through their innovative ideas.
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Gramya Ventures helps drive the health & wellness revolution by creating access to nutrition at prices everyone can afford and bringing safer food choices for consumers at affordable prices, thus helping to promote good health and well-being. Gramya benefits farmers by giving them opportunities to grow their businesses keeping in mind sustainable practices.