ajit desai“I have nothing to declare to except my genius.” – Oscar Wilde

It seems as if Ajit Desai was also in the same frame of mind and he wanted nothing to declare except his genius. In a country, where farmers are known to be illiterate, poor and have plenty of reasons to commit suicides, Ajit is one of the very few Indian farmers who are known just for good reasons.

Today, Ajit is the Managing Director of Desai Fruits and Vegetables (DFV), one of the largest fruit exporters of India. He founded DFV in 2001 and with that he started a movement of building a world class infrastructure for Indian agriculture.

Ajit was frustrated with the agriculture facilities available in India and he took up the challenge to set up the world class infrastructure which has today redefined the fruits and vegetables business in India, to an extent that they are now exported also. DFV is mainly concentrating on bananas but very soon other commodities will also be added to their list. India’s global share in banana production is 23%, highest than any other country in the world. However, DFV is the first Indian company to meet International Quality standards to export bananas. How successful is DFV? Let’s find out:

1) DFV achieved sales of $750,000 in 2006-07.
2) 2500 farmers are associated with DFV.
3) Attrition rate of farmers is 5%.
4) DFV claims that they are the first Indian company to export mangoes to US.

Why farmers are attracted to DFV?

Farmers are attracted to DFV as DFV can offer them more bananas in a model farm. DFV can produce 35 kg bananas in a model farm as compared to 17 kg of normal output. DFV promises a minimum price to the farmers and underwrite initial investments in seeds. There is a central labour bank for specific harvesting and post harvesting of banana cultivation. Farmers can ask for skilled labours from this central labour bank.

In 2006, a Switzerland based company known as Contract Farming India AG has picked up a stake in DFV. DFV will be benefited with this collaboration as CFI AG is investing a significant amount in increasing DFV’s financial and management operations.

One thing that we can say about Ajit Desai is that he is definitely the best contender for the title of ‘Banana King of India”.

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