CHICAGO: Sresta Natural bio-products, the first of its type company in India promoting Organic food under ’24 Mantra brand’ got a fresh shot in arm when the Sikkim government declared that this state in Indian union has become fully organic, totally restricting the use of chemical fertilizers for boosting agricultural production.
Rajashekar Reddy Seelam, founder of Sresta, said that this was announced in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a national conference on Sustainable Agriculture. Agriculture ministers and senior Government officers from various states and Central Government deliberated for two days to find solutions to problems facing Indian agriculture farmers. A further boost to organic farming was provided when PM Modi pitched for each and every State to go organic, starting with declaring at least one district totally organic.
Rajashekar Seelam was on a short trip to US last week and in a talk with this paper he said that idea of Organic food thru organic farming has been catching up fast globally and India is not lagging behind. This is reflected in a huge upsurge in demand for Sresta products in this country with a large number of grocery and fresh farm stores marketing Sresta products all over the country.
“It is not only people of Indian origin but even mainstream Americans too are buying our products and that has emboldened us to keep on adding new items every year, besides the usual run of the mill products like Atta, rice, lentils and edible. The sale has been going up since our major thrust three years ago and we have notched an average annual upswing of 15 percent.” he said.
Sresta has three major wholesale outlets in the country – Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco in CA. It has huge presence in Houston too and plans to slowly expand to other cities. Rajashekar said that it plans introducing ready to cook food and snacks as there is a good demand and the market is largely untapped.
“Though the organic products are relatively higher priced, the health conscious and enlightened people do not mind paying for that even in India. The average food and grocery bill for an average Indian family would not go up more than Rs.1500 a month with a switch over to organic items,” he said.
24 Mantra has recently commissioned a new processing plant in Hyderabad, India which is Gluten & Allergen free. The Gluten free products from the new unit will conform to USFDA requirements. There are many people suffering from Celiac disease and there are not many Indian products which are available. 24 Mantra will be offering Gluten free products conforming to USFDA standards in a few months time.
In India, the acreage under organic cultivation has been on a steady increase and currently about 1 million hectares are under organic certification against only 42,000 in 2003-04. Rajashekar said that many more farmers could be induced to go organic if the government encourages it with the sale level of subsidy that if offers for the use of chemical fertilizers. The subsidy for chemical fertilizers is around Rs75,000 crores.
He also pitched for crop rotation and setting up of a central research institute for organic farming and centers of excellence for organic farming at various state agriculture universities. Creating huge awareness is also an important step in promoting a larger consumption of organic food items.
The increasing use of organic farm methods will improve the soil condition, increase the yield and bring down overall cost to farmers as well, he asserted
The Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with Sresta for giving a boost to the organic farming in the State. AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, praising Sresta’s efforts in this direction, said that Sresta’s help in inducing farmers to go organic was very welcome. Rajashekar expressed hope that many more States would follow AP and Sresta was all set to help countrywide efforts in promoting organic farming on health and economic considerations.
Rajashekar was working in an agricultural products company when he observed the alarming use and spread of chemical usage on farms, and the deep impact it had on rural indebtedness. Investment in pesticides and synthetic fertilizers meant farmers had to borrow money, which in turn was affecting the very sustainability of the farmer’s life and standard of living. This was the starting point for Sresta.
With a group of inspired colleagues, he set out on a lifelong journey of passion and commitment and named his products 24 Mantra. Delving into the ancient Upanishads of India and sourcing from the Rig Veda, he drew upon the primary elements of nature. Tvam Bhumir Apo Analo Anilo Nabha – You alone are Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Ether. And it is a blend of all basic elements that compose wholesome food.
Sresta took small steps starting 2004. With the focus on creating means of sustainability for the farmers, it set about addressing two key areas – farmers and the products. For the farmers, the efforts were directed to issues of creating communities, a band of farmers committed to the cause of organic farming, ensuring continuing means of livelihood and building mutually beneficial relationships with the farmers.
It has been a challenging journey from 2004 It crisscrossed India and took the spirit of organic farming and sustainability to thousands of farmers covering over an area of one million acres. Sresta, under the 24 Mantra Organic food brand, has presence across India and abroad in 1500+ outlets and our own stores.
Amrender Reddy, a 24 Mantra spokesman here, said “the argument supporting organic food is simple. Organic agriculture uses techniques that focus on land and soil health and thus towards a balanced eco-system. There are no pesticides and insecticides used here. Hence the produce obtained is chemical free.
“Not only are chemicals harmful to the body, eliminating them also makes the food healthier and tastier. Organic food has proven to be a great antioxidant.”
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
