Let me ask a simple question? Which or what is the biggest business community in India? Give this a careful bit of thinking. Would you be surprised, if I say that it is the farming community?
The farmer makes great investments to till the land, to fertilise the soil, to buy seeds and sow crops and then finally harvest the produce. Like a business entrepreneur, the farmer too makes investments, and like an entrepreneur the farmer also hopes to make profits.
But farming is seen as a loss making venture. An average Indian farmer only earns Rs 1 lakh per year. That is not even enough to take care of the investments that a farmer makes, let alone think about profits. And then one has to deal with erratic weather events like unseasonal and excess rain, hailstorms and drought. Therefore 65% of India is struggling. Therefore 65% Indian entrepreneurs are making losses.
Is there a solution to this problem? Down To Earth met Aparna Rajagopal, an organic farmer and entrepreneur, who thinks that just growing food is not enough for a farmer to make profits. Farming can only be profitable, if there is value addition to the produce and sell it directly to the consumer.