Akshayakalpa

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Akshayakalpa is the first Certified Organic Milk Brand in India^{[citation needed]}. Headquartered in Tiptur, Karnataka, the company manufactures, markets, and sells Organic Milk and Milk products.^[1] In September 2020,the organisation was rated as among top organic dairy in India which is providing 100% pure cow’s milk.^[2]

The organization was founded in 2010.^[3]

History[]

Akshayakalpa was registered on October 2, 2010. However, the Genesis of Akshayakalpa dates to the years 2001 to 2009, where the Youva Chethna program led by Dr. G.N.S. Reddy^[3] from Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) encouraged like-minded people from urban areas to contribute in cash and kind to train young people and women in need in rural regions to take up agriculture and farming as a vocation of choice.^[3]

Nine Techies, including Akshayakalpa co-founder and managing director Shashi Kumar^[4] and his friends Venkatesh Seshasayee, Ranjith Mukundan, Ravishankar Shiroor, Ramakrishna Adukuri, Praveen Nale, Giridhar Bhat, Ramkumar Iyer and Mohammed Ashraf, then working with Wipro Technologies, were some of the earliest contributors to the Youva Chethana Program.^[5]

The idea of young people being trained to take up agriculture/farming as a vocation of choice was transformed into idea of rural entrepreneurship model under Akshayakalpa in the year 2010, when the above-mentioned techies seed funded Akshayakalpa in November the same year. The initiative was also crowdfunded by several other employees of Wipro Technologies.^[6] The main aim of Akshayakalpa is to resolve the dual issues of economic non-viability in dairy farming and agriculture, which is making farmers to either move away from farming or resort to unfair means such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides leading to poor-quality of food for the consumer and harmful side effects on health.^[4]

The founding team was known to defy corruption, which is rampant in Indian bureaucracy and refused to pay bribes at various levels while seeking clearances and licenses to begin operations. ^[7]

Philosophy[]

Akshayakalpa was born as a farmer entrepreneurship initiative.^[2] The organization aims to address the bilateral problem of economic non viability in agriculture which entails farmers to either move away from farming or resort to means like chemical fertilizers and pesticides and poor-quality food for the consumer.  The team identifies young farmers who have discontinued farming operations due to economic non viability and grooms them to relocate back to farming by providing bank linkages, farmers outreach and technical services and access to markets. Akshayakalpa handholds the farmer on a continuous basis and ensures economic viability of the farming operations.  

Today, the company is working with farmers in and around Tiptur, Karnataka and Chengalpattu,^[4] Tamil Nadu, and grooming them to be entrepreneurs by transforming their farming operations from livelihood focused to wealth creation opportunity. The organisation plans to build its network in future by training and collaborating with more than 100 such farmers and satellite farms owned by farmers in Chengalpet.^[4] To service the Bengaluru market the milk brand had already infused over Rs 100 crore in Tiptur’s rural eco system by the end of year 2020.^[4]

Akshayakalpa does not own any dairy farms but its staff organises and continuously guides the local farmers who owe these farms.^[1] Akshayakalpa owns a 40,000 Litre/day capacity Organic Milk Processing Plant where milk collected from the farmers working with Akshayakalpa is packed and processed.^[1] The current capacity of plant in 2021 March had crossed 40,000 litres per day whereas in September 2016 the plant had a capacity to process mere 7000 litres of milk every day.^[1] The plant is set up on 24 acres of land,13 km away from Tiptur town.^[8] The milk processed in this plant is supplied to Bangalore and Tumkur towns on a daily basis and is 100% organic.^[8]

Farms[]

Akshayakalpa works with farmers to set up small organic dairy farms that are owned and looked after by farmer families.^[1] The farms are optimally automated and self-sustaining.^[1]  

Each farm invests Rs. 25 lakhs,^[3] financed by Akshayakalpa partner banks, which is utilized to build the farms. The farms are made up of twenty-five cows, automatic milking systems, a biogas plant, a bio-digester, fodder choppers and a chilling unit among other facilities that enhance productivity^[3].^[9][10] Till year 2020, in Tiptur district,the organisation has tied up with 580 farmers whose average income is Rs 89000 per month.^[4] The organisation assures buyback of milk and farmers are paid around Rs 28-32 a litre depending on fat content of milk.^[3] It is estimated that dairy with 25 cows requires an ideal investment of Rs 25 lakhs covering all capital costs and must be on five acres of plot so that the requirement of grass and other utilities can be met in-house.^[3]

Inducting farmers to the Akshayakalpa model is a rigorous process and takes anywhere between 18 to 24 months. The farmers are groomed on various aspects like maintaining soil without chemicals, closed loop soil management, raising cows without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones.^[2] Akshayakalpa provides guidance on the design in addition to directing farmers from where to source equipment and helps on services like vaccinations and maintenance without charge, but farmers have to pay for consumables.^[3] The organisation staff of 40 members trains farmers regularly and initial engagement charges are quite high.^[3]

The company has stringent guidelines regarding the maintenance of the farms and the cattle. The cows are mainly fed on green fodder grown without chemical inputs.^[1] No hormones are injected,^[2] or oil cakes fed to boost milk production. The animals receive a regular check-up from doctors trained in ethnoveterinary practices to ensure that they are healthy and produce milk free from antibiotics and growth hormones.^[2]

All the farms associated with Akshayakalpa have the same design.^[3] The company ensures clean and stress-free housing for the animals. They are airy, steel-roofed sheds, with rubber mats on cemented floor for animal comfort.^[3] The cows and calves are stall-fed but not tethered.^[3] They are free to graze^[3] on a dedicated paddock area. The emphasis is on cleanliness.^[3] The dung has to be promptly cleared.^[3] The system of ventilation used by the organisation has also been complimented by farm owners compared to the traditional ones of keeping the cows in dark kotadis or mud-walled sheds with little ventilation.^[3] All the dairy farms of organisation look alike wherever they are located except for their physical location and even the animals in farm are indistinguishable and also the animals of local breeds are cross-bred with high-yielding alien animals for better adaptability and Akshayakapla has 130 farms in the Tiptur area till year 2016.^[3]

The farmers are taught closed loop soil health management. The dung and urine are flushed into a biogas plant.^[3] The gas (methane) is used to operate a generator that produces power^[3] for eight hours in a day. This electricity is used to power the day-to-day activity on farms. Further, the slurry from the bio-gas plant is led to a bio-digester. The filtrate is pumped out through a sprinkler system to the farm.^[3] The cultivation is entirely organic, avoiding chemical fertilizers. ^[11] Farm owners have complimented the process as they felt the palms have become more productive and are better able to resist diseases because of the slurry they use for manure.^[3]

The milking is done with machines^[3] that imitate the sucking of a calf. The milk is chilled immediately on site.^[3] Chilling the milk is mandatory at the farm level. The milk is chilled to 4 degree Celsius to ensure high quality. The system sends the data to the central server where it is analysed.  

The automation has significantly reduced manual labour and has made farm operations drudgery free. This is important for women who have to do household chores as well.^[3] It is also meant to persuade youth to stay in villages and take up agriculture as a vocation of choice.^[3] The organisation disapproves of engaging employees in diary sector as they tend to be abusive and that can affect the animal’s well-being and milk output and hence stresses on Owners hands on.^[3]

The company works with the goal of enabling rural entrepreneurship and wealth creation among farmers in and around Tiptur, Arsikere, Channarayapatna, Chikkanayakana Halli, Kadur and Holenarasipura. The company is also planning to expand its operations in Chennai with an investment of over Rs 15 crores in next few years.^[12][4] The company aims to serve 10,000 households per day with fresh organic milk by March 2021 and add a range of dairy products to households across Chennai gradually.^[12]

References[]