Taking a giant leap from IT?to agri business

Hyderabad: Most of us are unaware of the farmers who cultivate the food we eat. Also, there have always been voices of dissent highlighting this disconnect between the consumers and the farmers.

Feeling the need to connect both the stakeholders and pave way for other entrepreneurs to take up career opportunities in agri business, N. Prashanth Reddy founded iAgri, a company selling fruits, vegetables and dairy products, directly from farmers to various customers.

Interestingly, Reddy, who takes pride in being an agripreneur from the city, has an IT background but chose agriculture over the former.

The 29-year-old native from Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh says he had to face farmers’ ire when he had initially spoken to them about the concept. “Because Ananthapur is a drought-hit district, I wanted to bring farmers from this region on board and guarantee fixed returns to them,” he quips, adding that gaining their credibility was the toughest task.

Amid initial hiccups, iAgri went live in March this year with an initial investment of Rs 30 lakh from Prashanth and his partner Narender Reddy.

“The first few months....i.e. between March and May, we have only carried out pilots and kept doing our research. We started seeing the business become fruitful in May,” he reveals.

Having finished his schooling and graduation from Ananthapur, Reddy then continued with his father’s business of mining exports for two years before flying to the UK for his masters. “I had completed my masters in 2007 and worked at various IT companies for five years,” he says.

According to him, agri business has a lot of potential and career options that today’s entrepreneurs fail to identify. “I know it would’ve been easier for me to establish an IT-solutions start-up. But, I didn’t want to be one among a sea of IT startups. I wanted to be different,” he explains. iAgri also happens to be one of the city’s first agri biz-based start-ups.

The produce is sold to bulk buyers such as retailers, corporates, etc as well as consumers, says the entrepreneur who’s also a voracious reader.

Currently, there are 1,600 farmers under its umbrella and the company registers 100-150 farmers every day. “We also plan to add farmers from Karnataka,” he says, adding that the company has earned Rs 25-30 lakh between May and October.

Going further, Reddy reveals that the company plans to set up retail stores in Hyderabad by mid-2014 and have a significant presence in all the Southern states.

iAgri already has operations in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Anathapur. “We also plan to raise funding in a year,” Reddy, adding they are also exploring the exports route too.

Even the company’s online portal will go live for Hyderabad and Bangalore by December 1 for consumers, he adds.