Born and brought up in Karur, Tamil Nadu, Deepika Ravi had witnessed the trials and tribulations of farmers in her village who didn’t get enough markets to sell their produce. She remembers her father, who is also a farmer, talking about agriculture and the imbalanced markets, especially for produce like Moringa, which is cultivated in abundance in Karur.
“My father used to talk about the idea of taking an agricultural product and then making value-added products out of it. This way we are also providing opportunities to the farmers as well,” says 26-year-old Deepika.
After completing her studies, she decided to start a business based on her father’s concept of value-adding to any agricultural product. “I knew how extensively Moringa was cultivated in my hometown. I found it to be the finest greens since it has almost all the essential nutrients that a person needs for a healthier lifestyle. I also knew the difficulties faced by farmers to sell Moringa in the market at a standard price. That’s how I decided to start developing value-added products out of it thereby helping the farmers as well,” adds the MSc graduate in actuarial science.
