Founder’s Note: The Spice Business of Urvara Krsi

A message from the Founder & CEO of Urvara Krsi, Dr. Suchita Bhandari:

Earlier, I discussed our work in spices cultivation and market linkages, focusing on dried red chilli in Maharashtra and dried turmeric in Odisha. Since these states are part of our agroforestry operations, working with existing spices there was a logical step.

We collaborated with farmers in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district to grow IPM (Integrated Pest Management) grade dried red chilli, significantly reducing chemical pesticides for food safety.
Changing farmers’ cultivation habits is challenging due to their fear of yield and income loss.

However, our team identified 186 farmers across 28 villages covering 350 acres, and worked with them for over three years. Despite setbacks, last year was successful as farmers followed IPM protocols, even with a black thrips attack on the crop, producing sustainable IPM chilli. This success motivates us to expand these practices to more farmers, promoting safe produce and benefiting soil, water, and the environment.

In Odisha’s Laxmipur district, we collaborate with tribal farmers to cultivate chemical-free turmeric with high Curcumin content (>5%). We encouraged cultivation of existing local varieties, maintained cultivation protocols, created a fair price mechanism, and connected markets, engaging about 1,400 farmers. We also aided 250 farmers in obtaining organic certification from APEDA-authorized agencies, enhancing their income. Currently holding C1 & C2 certifications, our goal is to achieve C3 by August 2025, certifying the produce as organic.

These projects bring satisfaction to the Urvara Krsi team as we focus on sustainability and inclusive growth. The spice procurement business is cash-intensive, and as a startup, we struggled to expand it commercially due to resource constraints.

We have transferred this part of Urvara Krsi’s business to a company with the means to grow it further.

I thank the Urvara Krsi field team for their hard work and commitment in producing chemical residue-free products that are better for human health, soil, and the environment. I also appreciate our buyers’ consistent support for this project.

Urvara Krsi

Urvara Krsi promotes sustainable and environment-conscious cultivation of niche agricultural crops and agroforestry. We engage in the production & supply of high-quality planting stock and technology to farmers, and are a leading agricultural raw material provider to agro-based industries.

Incorporated in 2019, Urvara Krsi currently operates in four states of India: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. We have three (3) main Business verticals, viz. Commercial Agroforestry, Cultivation of Agricultural crops in contract farming models, and Agricultural Consultancy.

Through our B2B consultancy services, we cater to companies looking to enhance their farmer network, strengthen their R&D, and experiment with new crops and geographies by enabling clients to collaborate closely with local communities to identify new crops, launch pilot projects, and set up dedicated, cost-effective cultivation programs.

Urvara Krsi acts as the opportunity bridge between small-holder farmers and industrial buyers exploring new geographies with backward linkages through farmers’ networks.

To partner with Urvara Krsi, or to learn more about what we do, please Contact Us.