An Indian man’s business is helping thousands of poor farmers live better lives. Yogesh Joshi’s organic farming business is also keeping people safe from cancer, and other diseases.
Yogesh Joshi, of Rajasthan, comes from a family of state employees. His father, a Nagar Palika Chief Officer, wanted Yogesh to complete his education and enter a good profession. Yogesh, being the obedient son, finished his degree in agriculture and began working for a Rajasthan-based company in 2006, earning Rs 8,000 per month. He also got a certificate in organic farming.
Despite working for four years, Yogesh’s monthly wage was only Rs 12,000, which irritated him, and in 2010 he decided to pursue his ambition of founding an organic farming business.
Yogesh explains that he became interested in organic farming in order to protect people from ailments such as diabetes and cancer.
He claims that whereas the West has gone organic for many years, India is still catching up. However, people are becoming more aware of the importance of organic food, particularly since the coronavirus outbreak.
Yogesh wanted to assist farmers in growing organic food, which he would then purchase and sell to large corporations eager to acquire organic food at a premium price. So he formed a group of seven farmers and began organic cumin growing.
Yogesh founded Rapid Organic a decade years ago as a philanthropic project to assist farmers in growing organic vegetables and selling their goods at premium prices. The business began with a Rs 1.5 lakh investment and only Yogesh. But, it now a Rs 50 crore turnover and employs over 50 people.
The company now purchases 2-3 thousand tonnes of organic crops from farmers and sells them throughout India and around the world, including Japan, the United States, and Europe.
Furthermore, his wife Aruna Joshi works as a director with him and has received a women entrepreneurship award from Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani for her commitment to engage with women farmers. Yogesh has also received numerous honours, including one from Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, as well as the Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. He now wants to start growing organic superfoods in each state, as each has its own distinct harvest, and then market this product all over the world.
Yogesh Joshi ends the conversation by stressing upon the age old saying: hard work is the key to success. He adds a thousand days of hard labour in any field will almost always result in long-term success. Just because one does not achieve rapid success does not imply that they should continue to go from one profession to another.
