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To further boost its sales and increase its production capacity, ORGANIC INDIA is planning to enter into an arrangement with a Dutch company to set up a state-of-the-art decontamination facility in Madhya Pradesh. Along with this, work is also underway to further develop the main office complex in Lucknow where ORGANIC INDIA has its head office. "We expect that by the end of 2007, we will have our offices, factory, warehouses etc., all together in the same complex next to Kukrail forest on five acres of land," informs Bhavani Lev.
Defending the high pricing of their products, Bhavani feels that
if there is a greater demand for a product which is in short supply,
prices are bound to be high. What hikes up costs are the expenses
involved in getting organic
certifications and having regular monitoring to keep the certifications
valid.
Fields that have been inundated with pesticides and chemical fertilizers loose their fertility. Regenerating such fields takes a few years and, so when organic farming is started on these fields, the yield will be low in the first few years. However, the productivity increases every year.
While it is hard to determine the number of people whose lives have been benefited by the organisation, the company employs around 250 people in India, with another 100 working with the sister companies in the USA and Israel. Five thousand farmers and tribals work with the company during harvesting, which goes on all year round for different crops.
"In India, each person lives with and/or supports an average of ten others. So, this multiplies the numbers very quickly. If you see the light in the eyes of ORGANIC INDIA people, you will see how we have changed their lives, whether they are farmers, workers in the factory or our executives. Our vision is the first and foremost to be a vehicle of consciousness in the global market by creating a holistics, sustainable business modality that supports, promotes and inspires the well-being and respect for all beings and for Mother Nature. This is our vision statement. All that we are 'begins and flows' from this commitment only," philosophises Lev.
Meanwhile, a silent organic revolution is sweeping the country as more and more people realising the drawbacks of pesticides. Staple food as our forefathers knew it is making a comeback, though as a fad.
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