Mr. Shastry

Phalada

Hi, my name is CMN Shastry and I am the founder and Chairman of Phalada Agro Research Foundations Pvt.Ltd,Bangalore, India. Thank you for buying our organic Curcuma.

Phalada was established in 1999 in the Karnataka province in the South of India. With the vision of helping the farmer community, we decided to go down the “organic road” with providing end to end solution in organic farming. The farmers wanted to break out of a downward spiral where dangerous pesticides and artificial fertilizers were not giving the promised results. Together, we quickly realized that the answer was a completely different form of agriculture, one that focuses on healthy soils and healthy future generations.

When switching to organic, our farmers were faced with two important challenges. 1. Getting a good yield and 2. Fetching a decent price for their produce. Firstly when it came to getting a good yield, we spent years of painstaking research and development and with the latest organic technology, we were able to offer the best possible enriched vermicompost technology, liquid based bio fertilizers, Bio pest controllers focusing on soil conditioning, nutritional management, and pest & disease control to our farmers. Once we had helped our organic farmers with producing top class organic certified food ingredients, we found customers around the world that were willing to buy them. By connecting the farmers with the end consumer in a transparent way we were able to set up a sustainable business model which allowed everyone to continue to grow and develop. We believe in Fair Trade and we practice this throughout our supply chain. We ensure that the farmers are always paid a Fair Price for their produce. Today we work with over 1400 farmers all over India in the different geographical zones and employ 350 workers ( the majority of them are female) at our Processing unit.

Interview

What is Phalada’s biggest strength?
Our strength has always been our network of farmers and the bond that we share with them. Right from assisting them in seed procurement, soil conditioning to harvesting and storage, we guide them at every step with the best processes available. This strong relationship is a win-win for everyone.

Apart from Tumeric, what do the farmers grow?
We encourage them to grow short term spices, medicinal & aromatic crops as an intercrop with buy back arrangement. This has created a big impact on their income & livelihood due to additional funds coming out of the same small holding. Given our network of farmers spread across India, in varied climatic conditions, this also gives us the opportunity to offer a wide range of more than 100 different products to our customers.

What about transparency?
From the onset, we have been firm believers of transparency. Being involved in the entire supply chain also gives us the opportunity to link up farmers with the customers. Most of our customers visit our farmers every year and they now know each other by their first names! This level of transparency has ensured our customers understand the challenges of farmers better and also the positive impact organic farming has on their lives

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soil

When we started working organically, our focus was on healthy soils. We spent many years of research to perfect the best possible compost technology focusing on soil conditioning, nutritional management, and pest & disease control. Today, in order to keep our soils vibrant and healthy our growers rotate their crops based upon a 1 in 4 system. Furthermore, many of them are producing compost together.

biodiversity

Here at Phalada we believe very strongly in working in harmony with nature with local fauna and flora. That is why in 2007 we started our ‘Annual Tree Plantation’ program whereby the focus has been on planting trees specifically of endangered and red-listed species. To date, we have been able to restore more than 600 acres of forest. We also do bark regeneration study of medicinal importance trees for sustainable harvest.

We Introduced different wild collected species into cultivated species, example, Manjista, Brahmi, Gotukola, Guggulu, Ashoka, Arjuna etc. to ensure what’s in the wild stays as it is. Saplings of Fruit yielding tree species are distributed among farmers as part of biodiversity program. These saplings are planted as hedge crop on the boundaries of each farmers land. This way, once the tree starts yielding, these trees will give extra income to the farmers for future years and also may act as protection against contamination from neighbouring farms.

individual

Curcuma is deeply rooted in the Indian cuisine and culture and we are proud to grow and export this special, exceptionally healthy root vegetable. Curcuma is known not only for its great taste and as a colorant but also as an alternative medicine to treat a variety of health conditions. Here in Asia, we have been using Curcuma for more than 4000 years to stay healthy and help different illnesses including gastrointestinal disorders and arthritis pain. Furthermore, Curcuma is known as an effective anti-inflammatory agent and wound healer. More recent uses for Curcuma include cancer prevention, anti-aging treatments, and battling high cholesterol and heartburn.

society

Be it social, cultural or environmental, we participate wherever possible, to give back to nature and the society. We are restoring a historical monument, 1200-year-old, in Hosagunda, Sagar taluk, Shimoga district, Karnataka state, India, by renovating the old structure and raising endangered breeds of cows to revive lost arts and crafts. We make every effort to protect and cherish what we have been blessed with. Furthermore, we try to help our farmers and their families as best as possible through, for example, special education projects at schools, providing school bags for the children, funding free eye checkups or supplying special vermicompost bins.

Some Grower Testimonies:
“Organic Farming has helped me keep my family & my fields healthy! My farm now is self-sustainable and I no longer need to depend on expensive chemicals to keep my fields healthy. Working with Phalada has also ensured that I always have a ready premium market for my produce and ensures my economic stability!” - A mint farmer from North India

climate

Organic farming is often used as an example of climate smart agriculture. This is because organic farmers do not use artificial fertilizers and other agrochemicals that produce great amounts of CO2 during production. More importantly, because organic farmers invest in healthy, vibrant soils, the soil is able to sequester carbon. Healthy soils also lead to a better water holding capacity in times of drought and better run off due to the soil structure in times of heavy rains.

water

In 2009 we started the ‘Annual Rain Harvesting’ program in one of our farmer areas where there was a serious shortage of ground water. This was a very successful program for the farmers in the region. Whereas before they were harvesting single crops every year, because of year round availability of ground water, now they are able to harvest two crops and that has had a positive impact on their income.

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