Midas of the Farmland
AKASHBADAVE, 31 CEO, Bhoomgaadi, DANTEWADA
“OUR AIM IS TO DEVELOP MARKET LINKS FOR LOCAL PRODUCE AND SHARE PROFITS AMONG FARMERS”
It was a desire to do socially useful, environmentally sustainable work that made Akash Badave quit his job as a banker in Pune and come to Dantewada. Today, he works with more than 10,000 farmers—mostly tribals—helping them access markets for their produce while nurturing traditional agriculture. In 201112, he had applied for the Pradhan Mantri Rural Development Fellows (PMRDF) programme, asking to be assigned to Dantewada. Soon after, he realised that farmers needed to be organised and that traditional varieties of crops needed to be preserved. “Dantewada is home to more than 150 varieties of rice, whose crop cycles range from 60 days to six months,” he says. He encouraged the state government to declare Dantewada an ‘organic district’, leading to the government ending its sale of chemical fertilisers in the area. Bhimsi Ahir, also with the PMRDF programme, mentored Akash in his efforts. There were many challenges, including the fact that farms in the district are some distance from agricultural markets—farmers would generally sell their crop to middlemen, getting shortchanged in the process.
Against this backdrop was born Bhoomgaadi. The name refers to a postharvest festival celebrated by the Gond, Maria and Muria tribes of the region. The company now has over 2,700 farmers from 80 villages as shareholders. With financial support from the district administration, Bhoomgaadi buys produce, processes and packages it and then markets it across the country.
In its third year, Bhoomgaadi recorded sales of 2,000 quintals of produce, worth Rs 90 lakh. The company’s profit is about Rs 6.3 lakh, which the board of directors (12 shareholding farmers) have decided to invest in developing agricultural knowhow. The product range comprises rice, lentils, poha and millets among others. “Our objectives are to develop market linkages for local produce. Eventually, profits will be distributed as dividend among shareholders,” says Akash. Bhoomgaadi also helps farmers by paying betterthanmarket rates for produce. The focus on sustainability has meant that the company’s produce is organic: “We [do not use] chemical fertilisers and want to maintain this advantage,” says Arjun Bhaskar, a tribal farmer from Siyanar village. ■