Baba India Organic by Mr. Kamal Pandey (Founder) and Ms. Namita Tamta (Co founder), Hawal Bagh, Papar Saili, Almora, Uttarakhand
In the heart of India’s vibrant agricultural landscape, a new wave of innovation is taking root. This is the story of Baba India Organic (BIO), an agritech startup that is revolutionizing traditional farming practices and transforming the future of food production in our country. Baba India Organic, founded by two passionate entrepreneurs with not so deep understanding of agriculture, also from totally different backgrounds. Their mission is to aware farmers as well as rural women through training programs on mushroom cultivation and also give them assurity to buy back their products as the main problem facing by our farmers is of market, they have fear that what if their produce will not be sell. By integrating so many methods like training programs, information disseminations, collaboration with many other companies, Baba India Organic is creating a new paradigm for agri sector that balances productivity with environmental sustainability, marketing as well as farmer needs.
Introduction
During the very difficult time of Covid-19, man named Kamal Pandey with a well settled job of an engineer at American Express have decided to start his own business in agriculture sector without being from agriculture background. Today he is the Founder of the brand “Baba India Organic”, which sells organic products like ghee, herbal tea and honey
with Namita Tamta, Co-founder who have started working on this project during her bachelor’s degree in fine arts again not from the agriculture background they both set an example for our youth that under the age of 30 they both having their own brand name in the sector which is our necessity but no one want to give their hand on that just because of risk, lack of skills, knowledge, financial support and many more.
The founders recognized that one of the biggest challenges facing farmers was the fear of an uncertain market. Would their produce sell? Would they get a fair price for their hard work? To address this, Baba India Organic stepped in, offering a solution of providing training programs on how to produce and then buy their produce also selling some products which are available on their website thebiovalley.com although the website in under process but soon it will take the shape. They are also providing internship to the students under government programs and their own
training programs by integrating various methods such as training programs, information dissemination, and collaboration with other companies, Baba India Organic is creating a new paradigm for the agricultural sector. Their innovative approach is not just transforming the way farmers produce, but also give them opportunity to learn without being at a loss. As we delve deeper into the journey of Baba India Organic, we will explore how they are shaping the future of agriculture in India, and how their innovative approach could serve as a blueprint for similar initiatives around the nation.
On 1 December, 2023 Baba India Organic completed their 3 year of journey. This have been started from Almora, city in Uttarakhand where oyster, button, shiitake and many more varieties of medicinal mushrooms, their byproducts, and many other products are also made which have high value in market but due to lack of marketing they are unable to take a proper shape in present market. They are also selling Badri cow ghee which is made from A2 milk of Badri cows, a native cow species from Uttarakhand hills, they buy it from the farmer clusters of Munsyari and Ranikhet, Badri cow only graze on organic herbs and shrubs in the Himalayas and their milk is said to have high medicinal value and very rich in omega-3 and Omega-9 fatty acids.
Government Support
In 2022, Headstart, India’s largest early-stage startup community which gives validation, visibility and mentorship to the developing startups and them a opportunity to make more connections in their field conducted Bharat Pichathon 2.0 in which Baba India Organic considered under top three startups of India where 69 startups were there from all over India besides this they were the winners in Startup Uttarakhand last year in 2022 and got a prize money of fifty thousand rupees.
Recently BIO completed their incubation through FIED (The Foundation for Innovation and Entrepreneurship development), an incubation centre for IIM Kashipur, its main aim is to strengthen and nurture India’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. It has been instrumental in establishing on entrepreneurship ecosystem in Uttarakhand. After their incubation they had been selected under RKVY Raftaar scheme in which they will be provided 20 lakh rupees fund (which is 90% grant and 10% contribution to the incubate) for the cultivation of medicinal mushroom till now they have been funded by 1 lakh rupees out of 20 lakh and other installments will be provided to them as per their work updates , for this grant they have to show their creativity and innovation in their work either in manufacturing of product or providing training for women and farmers.
Foreign Collaborations
Last year in 2022 they had got a project from Oman in which they got a chance to serve as consultants but due to some health issues of the customers there, they are unable to launch their products. Thereafter a company named Shailin farming solution private limited of Dehradun made collaboration with BIO to meet the demands of the new foreign project of Jordan.
Future Planning’s
Till now they have connected to more than 500 farmers directly and they wanted to involve more and more farmers every year to make their benefit by giving them market to their produce, In rural areas the main problems are of migration and wild animals like monkey, pigs who make harm to their produce that is the reason BIO promoted mushroom cultivation due to its indoor cultivation under well maintained condition and also doing a cultivation of herbs like rosemary, tulsi, lemongrass which are totally intractable to the wild animals and they do not harm them like other crops. Now if we talk about their turnover in 2022 it was 14 lakh and in 2023-24 they are expecting it to be in 23 to 25 lakhs.
