The Plate Podcast

Sour Milk: The truth about India's dairy

The dairy industry is one of Indian agriculture's standout success stories. Until the 1970s, milk shortages were common. The White Revolution, led by Verghese Kurien, not only made India self-sufficient but also the world’s largest milk producer. Now, these achievements are under threat. Milk production growth is slowing, and Indian dairy products struggle to meet global quality standards. The Plate’s TR Vivek speaks with Shashi Kumar, founder and CEO of organic dairy startup Akshayakalpa, about the looming crisis and potential solutions. Read the full story of Akshayakalpa’s fascinating origins [https://theplate.in/how-27-techies-who-wanted-to-change-indian-agri-ended-up-creating-an-organic-startup/] and a brief history of India's remarkable White Revolution [https://theplate.in/a-brief-history-of-indias-white-revolution-the-story-of-remarkable-individuals-and-collective-spirit/].

How a young city girl made a fortune in the farm

In this episode, The Plate’s Sanjana James speaks to Anushka Jaiswal, a dynamic young agripreneur from Lucknow. Defying norms in a traditionally male-dominated field, this economics graduate turned her passion for farming into a thriving profession. Anushka’s innovative farming techniques are not just transforming her journey but also setting a new benchmark for modern agriculture. We speak to her about her story, the challenges of being a woman in farming, and the things that could reshape the future of Indian farming.

Does natural farming actually work?

Given the concerns around climate change and ecological degradation, a shift to natural farming practices that exclude the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is advocated by many as the only way forward. But, can going back to a simplistic method of using farm waste and manure help feed a country of 1.4 billion? Is natural farming even financially sustainable for farmers and consumers alike? And in any case, there is very little evidence so far about the efficacy of natural farming. A new report by the Bengaluru-based NGO The Nudge, tries to offer some. The Plate's editor TR Vivek speaks to Ankur Sanghai, an associate director at The Nudge and the lead author of the report to understand if the idea of a shift to natural farming is utopian or indeed an urgent need to save the planet.

Turning women farmers into entrepreneurs

Small and marginal farmers, or those with less than two acres of land, make up over 86 per cent of Indian farming. A majority of these smallholder farmers  are women. Their participation is not just invisible, but they own very little land. In many ways the challenge of reforming agriculture in India, starts with empowering women farmers, especially the landless and poor.  This is what drives the vision of S4S Technologies, a food processing company that works with women farmers and equips them to become entrepreneurs by processing agricultural produce at the village level. Their innovations, which span giving rural women access to technology, finance and market linkage for their products, leads to the doubling of their household incomes. This in turn gives them both an independent income as well as a voice within their families and communities. The Plate’s Aarthi Ramachandran speaks to Nidhi Pant, a co-founder at S4S Technologies. Nidhi is a chemical engineer by training, a young woman entrepreneur herself who has won multiple awards and a passionate votary for changing the lives of women farmers through entrepreneurship. Nidhi spoke about how she and her co-founders at S4S Technologies came up with the idea of working with rural women; how her company works with the food industry and how food processing as an activity has transformed the lives of the 800 women farmers it works with.

Why are tomatoes more expensive than petrol?

Tomato prices have skyrocketed to Rs 150-200/kilo now. Just a few months ago, farmers were dumping tomatoes on roads in protest against prices falling to as low as Rs 1-2. Why do prices of essential vegetables in India swing as wildly as the dukes ball on a green top in Nottingham? The Plate's TR Vivek speaks to Vilas Shinde, the chairman of Sahyadri Farms, India's largest farmer producer company and of the biggest tomato processors in the country to decode this frequent phenomenon.