Agritech firm Gramik, which is mainly into input supplies and advisory services, aims to cover the entire Uttar Pradesh from its current presence in 12 districts and more districts in Maharashtra from three now while entering Madhya Pradesh during the next three years.

Encouraged by a surge in revenue in the second year of operation, Gramik’s CEO Raj Yadav said the potential in the agri sector is very high but his company is not in a hurry to expand. “Before entering a district, we are collecting all the data on the crops produced, their volume, sales, milk production, cattle population, etc. in each village,” Yadav told businessline.

Gramik, formerly known as AgriJunction, deals with crop protection products such as pesticides and herbicides apart from inputs like seeds, fertilisers, compost, agricultural tools (not machinery), plant nutrients and cattle feed.

The firm which was started in June 2021, had ₹3.5 crore turnover in the first year of operation and it targets to reach ₹120 crore in current fiscal. “We are confident of reaching our target as our peer partners in the village level have provided the back-up to the company’s growth,” he said. The peer partners, mostly young women, collect the input demand from their respective village and pass it on to a centralised system on a regular basis, he said, adding these people work on a commission basis.

“We have built trust in a short time as we are supplying only established and good quality brands. There are several other brands who also want their products to be sold through our channel, but we are not keen on those items as any failure of a product will also be a risk for us,” Yadav said.

The company is most likely to start its operation from next kharif season in 3-4 more districts of western Uttar Pradesh, he said. Currently it operates in Pratapgarh, Barabanki, Fatehpur, Hardoi, Shravasti, Raebareli, Bahraich, Unnao, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Ghazipur districts of Uttar Pradesh as well as Jalna, Satara and Buldhana districts of Maharashtra.

Sourcing model

Asked how the Gramik is sourcing the products as manufacturers may not like to disturb their own distribution channel, Yadav said while some companies are directly dealing with them, others ask their distributors to supply to Gramik as they get order in bulk which adds to their sales volume. He also said that the sourcing of products is always done through the manufacturers directly to ensure genuineness of the products.

“Doorstep and timely delivery are two key features of our operation, apart from quality advice of experts. Once we receive the demand for inputs from our peer partners, we plan the movement of our delivery vehicles accordingly and distribute the items from the van itself in a village before moving to the next destination,” he said.

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