An Indo-Dutch hybrid organization under Raddis System has created a fairer, business model that connects global brands and retailers with actual farmers in India.
It supports 18,000 smallholders and their communities in southeast India, which includes 2,500 farmers who grow organic and regenerative cotton which is part of Raddis Cotton. The traditional buyer-seller model is improved by making brands that buy cotton also pay a certain amount as an ‘acre contribution’.
This contribution is based on the number of acres that will be needed to grow the cotton. The acre fee is in fact a donation to the NGO and is mostly tax deductible. The funds collected by the GVK Society are used to purchase and distribute non-GMO seeds, for cotton and other symbiotic and food crops also. The contribution is also used to train farmers and provide guidance and support for the farmer families and rural communities. Brands supporting this concept include Hugo Boss, Umber & Ochre, Bedstraw & Madder, Papillon Bleu, and Lässig.
The support goes to tribal farmers that grow only cotton crops in a year without an irrigation facility. They live below the poverty line. Shifting to regenerative agriculture is an incredible amount of work. In conventional farming, all the risks were borne by the farmers. Under the conventional system, they had no idea of the price they would get for their produce. Moreover, they receive six to nine months after sowing which keeps them below the poverty line. Now brands are their buyers and pay a premium for their cotton.
Raddis stands for Radically Disruptive, is an innovative model conceived by Grameena Vikas Kendram Society for Rural Development (GVK Society). It promotes market-driven regenerative value chains. There are numerous other NGOs that are helping cotton farmers to grow the crop in a sustainable way and guarantee the purchase of the crop thus produced at a premium.
