Organic Food after R2i

[Srinivas]

Hi All,

Has anyone thought about agriculture/ Organic food in india after R2I. this sounds stupid but did anyone try this out.

I am planning to R2I at end of june 2007(pakka).. but am not sure what to do. dont really want to work on computers - but that is the only thing i know :) :D ... The main reason for R2I is to do something to do value added job to people in need(Social Service).

So apart from computers I have done only two investments -CD and land (agriculture land) I am sure I am reasonably well off for the next two years and can go without income if I stay within limits.. so was thinking of creating organic foods brand and deliver to rich class(primary - 70% of my time - this has to become my source of income), social service(secondary-30% of my time). My assumption is once this gets started I will have enough time to get fulltime into social service by the end of next year.

Is anyone else doing this? Or is anyone thinking in the same lines?

About us:
We have about 15 Acres of land about 35 kms from hyd. Is this too small to create a brand or am i just dreaming and should stick with job of adding no value to the soceity.


Thanks,
Srinivas

[DosaiLvr]

Has anyone thought about agriculture/ Organic food in india after R2I. this sounds stupid but did anyone try this out.
[/quote]

Lot of people are concerned about indescriminate use of pesticides in growing fruits and veggies.

Some are concerned enough not to eat fresh salads and fruits such as grapes unless washed thoroughly under running water.

Market is not a concern at all; but will you be able to make it profitable or at least break even?

[back_in_des]

srinivas

namdharis is already selling organic food. 24 lettered mantra is another store chain selling organic food. both have websites you can check them out.

however, I can to tell you, the 24 lettered mantra is gonna close down soon. there is hardly anybody there most of the time. and the stock on their shelves are diminishing every time we visit there.

regarding organic farming, you should know that if your land has not been organic in the past, you will not get the organically grown certificate right away even if you don't add any more pesticide to it. it will take years for your land to get rid of harmful chemicals. so i read somewhere. please do your investigation on this line of thought.

[saakshay]

Srinivas,

I am assuming you are in hyd, I heard reliance fresh has opened or close to opening 50 fresh stored around hyd and the stores are doing really well in opulent areas like bajara , jubliee hills . So in my opinion you may want to do a lot of research before you get into this. Good news is health awareness is growing . Let me give u a example. Last time I was there I went to many parties and no one was serving Tandoori chicken and I finally asked a relative and he told me that since color is used in Tandoori and color may cause cancer , demand for tandoori chicken is down :)

I am in the same boat as you, donot know what to do when I go back and looking for oppurtunities

[VRG]

hi Srinivas,

Back_in_Des is correct, it takes many years to get the land certified. So you need to have a long term vision.

I'm planning to do the same but not for profit, mostly for the awareness. The last thing India need is making same mistakes which West did.

I believe ppl are realizing in India the disadvantages of Mass agriculture (basically big bang approach for everything). I think it is easier to promote sustainable agriculture in India as it has been practiced for thousands of yrs.

My plan is not to expect any income. Do some experiments..and if there's a room in future..let's say 5-10 yrs down the road..may be!!

You can have a small client base, based on Word of mouth. You can have ppl from city to stay @ your farm to see what exactly you're doing so that they can develop trust in you and your farm. You might not need land to be certified right from day one. As long as you're following right practices, ppl will buy.

Anyway, this is my idea and I have full faith and confidence in it.

Will see..:)

[Srinivas]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies - Yes - it is a tough thing to get into - but are there any other ideas in the agriculture sector that can be done. I am new to agriculture/ farming.

Thanks,
Srinivas

[sara]

24 lettered Mantra is out of Hyderabad as someone has pointed out. 24 letter guys contract it out to farmers and monitor them. Do it for the fun. More land going organic is good - you get a transition certificate on your way to being fully organic.

[mmrhyd]

Organic food is going to hit stores by this March in a big way... here is the eenadu artilcle for those who can read telugu...
http://www.eenadu.net/panelhtml.asp?qrystr=htm/panel11.htm

[Desi]

The more land goes organic, the less food we will have as a world to feed 6 billion plus. Organic farming cuts down yield and quality.

[idli-vadai]

"cuts yield and quality" Huh??? :confused:

The more land goes organic, the less food we will have as a world to feed 6 billion plus. Organic farming cuts down yield and quality.