Patamar portfolio company LEAF has managed to drought-proof the farmers who are not running losses and all the payments for their crop are promptly made to their banks.

Naganna listened with disbelief as Anand, an employee of a fresh produce supply chain company called Lawrencedale Agro Processing (LEAF), dished out advice on how to improve crop yields from his small holding by using better seeds, less fertiliser, science, technology and inter-cropping. He also spoke of better packaging of vegetables that Naganna used to grow on his land, better marketing and better returns. “I decided to take a chance,” Naganna told ET Magazine.

Malavalli, where Naganna farms, has irrigates his district of Mandya is almost dry, following six successive drought seasons. LEAF has worked in over 404 acres with farmers that have tube wells or borewells on their land to get their model in place and to improve the farmers’ lot.

Now, flush with success, LEAF plans to work with farmers that have no water sources in the next round. Vikram Global Commodities Private Limited, though, does not have this felicity as they are working with the Sadalamma Horticulture Farmers Producers Company Limited in the arid Sidlaghatta taluk of Chikballapur district. They are growing the rose onion crop purely for export — with 250 farmers across 350 acres.

Read the full article on Economic Times.