Mysuru farmers look to directly enter retail market with chia

About 200 farmers have been cultivating chia in small quantities in Mysuru district.

Farmers in Mysuru are planning to enter the retail market by launching packaged ‘ready-to-use’ chia seeds, a ‘super food’ of South American origin. Many are growing the crop in parts of the district with technical support from the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI).

About 200 farmers have been cultivating chia in small quantities, and around 15 tonnes was grown last year. Some entrepreneurs have bought the seeds from the farmers and, after mandatory processing, marketed them under various product names.

The Raitha Mitra Farmers Producers’ Company, an entity set up by farmers in Mysuru which has joined hands with CFTRI, has been buying chia seeds from growers and selling them to entrepreneurs for a marginal profit. With the number of takers for chia on the rise, Raitha Mitra is now thinking of making a foray into the retail market, launching chia seeds for supermarkets.

“We thought why can’t we directly sell the processed seeds to consumers and encourage growers? By setting up some basic infrastructure for processing, we can enter the retail market with ready-to-use chia seeds, which are rich in energy and can be used to cook a variety of foods,” said Kurubur Shanthakumar, founder-president of the group.

He told The Hindu that Raitha Mitra was planning to establish a fruit and vegetable processing centre, a repining chamber, and a processing unit for chia seeds. This requires investment and the company plans to take a bank loan.

Mr. Shanthakumar said he and others from Raitha Mitra had met Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant in New Delhi recently with a request for financial support. “Our team also met top Union Agriculture Ministry officials and discussed our expansion plans,” he said.

He said the Centre has offered a helping hand to the company for getting a loan of up to ₹1 crore for expansion moves. “On getting a letter on this, our company will apply for the loan and start working on establishing the new facilities at APMC and other places,” he said.

Mr. Shanthakumar said the company had offered ₹200 a kg to chia growers under a buyback scheme last year. “If we get a good price from the retailers, we can offer more now. Last year, the yield was 300 kg of chia seeds per acre. This year, the area under cultivation will be increased,” he said.