Manipuri Agri Entrepreneurs deliver nutritious vegetables to residents of Imphal

23rd May 2021

Manipuri Agri Entrepreneurs deliver nutritious vegetables to residents of Imphal amidst Covid-19

The second wave of Covid-19 in India has also hit the state of Manipur hard. Currently, most of the major markets are closed and movements are limited to only essential goods suppliers. It is in this climate that Veg-in-a-Basket (ViB), an agribusiness established to connect rural farmers with urban consumers, has played a critical role delivering much-needed vegetables to residents of Imphal. Since the second wave restrictions started, ViB has delivered hundreds of bags of farm fresh vegetables reaching close to 2,000 individuals in Imphal.

ViB was incubated by the MaolKeki Foundation (MKF), a local philanthropic organization, in 2019 after many of the farmers it had been training highlighted the challenge of lack of market access. The two owners of this impact-driven agribusiness, Mr. Surjeet Luwangcha from Khoijuman in Bishnupur District and Ms. Rajina Potsangbam from Uripok in Imphal West, underwent a 21-day Agri Entrepreneurship training program organized by the Agri Entrepreneur Growth Foundation, a joint venture between Syngenta Foundation India and the Tata Trusts.

ViB also benefited from further support from the Anaha Trust, facilitated by Sattva Media & Consulting Pvt. Ltd., which enabled the expansion of ViB to cover more trusted farmers in rural areas of Bishnupur District to grow and supply fresh vegetables directly to urban consumers in Imphal. In doing so, ViB addressed a few key challenges:

o Farmers not getting value for their hard labour in producing good quality vegetables
o Busy urban consumers not having the time to shop for fresh vegetables and being suspicious about chemical overuse on crops
o Extremely volatile pricing with unreliable supply chains, and finally,
o Traceability enabling consumers to put names and faces to the growers producing their food

ViB customers can easily order through its web form and fresh vegetables are usually delivered within one to two days. For more info, please WhatsApp or call 081318 18744 or use this web form to order:
https://neartail.com/in/order-link .

About Agri Entrepreneur Growth Foundation

Launched during 2019, the Agri Entrepreneur Growth Foundation (AEGF) is a collaboration between Tata Trusts and Syngenta Foundation India, aimed at creating wealth for resource-poor smallholder farmers in India through innovation, sustainable agriculture and by linking them to value chains. The awareness and education program driven by AEGF have so far successfully reached out to more than 15.8 Lakh farmer family members and directly to over 3 Lakh farmers in multiple Indian states through a network of 1782 trained agri entrepreneurs (AE).

About Anaha Trust

The Anaha Trust, based in Bangalore, Karnataka, is run by Mr. Chandrasekhar Balagopal with his wife Mrs. Vinita Nambiar. Anaha supports various social projects in India across states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Manipur. Mr. Balagopal was once posted as a young Indian Administrative Service officer in Manipur - an experience he encapsulated in his book entitled, “On a clear day you can see India” - before becoming a medical devices entrepreneur and philanthropist. For more info on Anaha Trust, visit http://anahatrust.org.

About MaolKeki Foundation

MaolKeki Foundation is a pioneering organization established with the purpose of catalysing positive development in Manipur, India, primarily in the areas of agriculture, education and healthcare. It is registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, and more information can be found at http://www.maolkekifoundation.org.

MaolKeki Foundation
Lairik Yengbam Makha Leikai
Imphal, 795 010
Manipur, INDIA