MadhuChandan SC - Organic Mandya Farmers Foundation

Madhu Chandan, a software engineer who left a thriving business in California to return to India to pursue organic farming, has transformed the lives of hundreds of farmers in the Mandya district in Karnataka.

In 2015, Madhu Chandan opened the first Organic Mandya store. It has now grown into a Rs 25 crore turnover organic retail chain with eight locations.

Madhu has built a Rs 25 crore turnover organic retail chain by purchasing agricultural products directly from farmers and selling them at 'Organic Mandya' stores, which began with the first store he opened in Mandya on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway in 2015.

"We now have eight Organic Mandya stores, six in Bengaluru and two on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway," Madhu says. The stores sell vegetables, cereals, pulses, and a variety of other items.

"Our ghee, butter, jaggery powder, cold-pressed coconut oil, and Rajmudi rice are the most popular. "The stores range in size from 1000 square feet to 4000 square feet," says Madhu, whose decision to return to India came at a time when a large number of farmers were committing suicide in Karnataka.

Mandya district alone recorded 29 farmer suicides between April 1 and July 29, 2015, out of a total of 197 suicides in the state. The district had the highest rate of suicides in the state.

Madhu, who comes from a farming family in the Mandya district, was disturbed by the ongoing spate of suicides and the sad plight of farmers.

His father had been the Vice Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru, and the family's ties to agriculture remained strong. His mother was a housewife.

Madhu met with farmers in the Mandya districts and explained the benefits of organic farming to them.

"I was making millions and living a great life. I had everything I desired. However, I was dismayed to see people in my district (Mandya), where my grandfather worked as a farmer, struggling. "I wanted to help them," says Madhu.

Madhu eventually returned to India in 2014. After meeting with farmers in Mandya and explaining the benefits of organic farming, he established the Mandya Organic Farmers Cooperative Society the same year.

The next task was to locate a market for organic produce. Madhu established Organic Mandya, a store that sells organic products purchased from farmers, in 2015.

He paid farmers a higher price for organic products because the yield from organic cultivation was often lower than that of chemically fertilized crops.

As a result, the Organic Mandya stores' prices were higher than the other stores' prices, but consumers interested in organic products were willing to pay the difference.

Madhu also has a 10,000-square-foot warehouse where the foods grown by farmers are purchased and processed into various products for sale in stores.

Mandya Organic Farmers Cooperative Society currently has about 1200 farmers practicing organic farming. Around 60 district residents work in the warehouse, and another 60 work in the stores.

"I started my first store with a Rs 1 crore investment borrowed from some of my friends," Madhu says. "Sales have increased since then. The turnover in the previous fiscal year was more than Rs 25 crore."

Madhu believes it is past time for people to work together with nature to live healthier and happier lives. He hopes to one day convert the entire Mandya district to organic farming and make farming a respectable profession.

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