The company asserts it has positively impacted over 3.7 million farmers in India. Founder and CEO Ruchit Garg stated, "My grandfather was a farmer. So, I wanted to do something meaningful surrounding agriculture."
Ruchit Garg had been employed at Microsoft in Hyderabad for three years before being transferred to the company's headquarters in Redmond, where he served as a technical program manager for an additional three years before resigning in 2011 to return to India and establish a startup focused on farmers. At the time of his departure, he was earning around Rs 1 crore per annum.
"I got bored," the 44-year-old told Money Control. "I felt like a misfit there. I always wanted to run a business, and I had dabbled a bit in entrepreneurship in 2004 when the startup craze hadn't started yet. In 2011, when I saw them mushrooming in the US, I decided to get back in the game again."
He subsequently launched Harvesting—a company dedicated to selling fresh farm produce and securing better deals for farmers by eliminating intermediaries. The company alleges it has aided over 3.7 million farmers in India.
When questioned about his decision to transition to the agricultural sector, Garg explained, "My grandfather was a farmer in a village near Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. He had a mango farm. So, I wanted to do something meaningful surrounding agriculture. Now, Harvesting helps small-holder farmers make more money. You can think of it like next-generation Amul. We help farmers with anything they need to grow their crops such as advisory, seeds, pesticides, etc., and help them sell their produce online and offline."
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