Sikkim, a small state in northwest India and bordered by Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal is also home to glaciers, alpine meadows and thousands of varieties of wildflowers.  Part of the Himalayas, the area has a dramatic landscape including India’s highest mountain, 8,586m Kanchenjunga. Today, Sikkim is proud of a number of Startups that has cropped up in the state, showcasing power of organic products.

Sikkim is the pioneer in Organic Agriculture in India.CM of Sikkim Pawan Chamling, with world vision and distinct dream of developing Sikkim an developed state in India mooted the idea of transforming Sikkim’s agrarian agriculture into a high value enterprise by converting it into a fully Organic State. Converting to organic is an effective way to supply high-value produce within the limited land to the world population who are growing more health-conscious and seeking to ignore the chemically-treated food items across the board.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit on January 18- 19 declared Sikkim as the first organic state in the country. Young entrepreneurs, who have started new ventures in Sikkim to harness the potential of processed organic products in the state, shared their experiences with PM.

The Prime Minister interacted with 29-year old entrepreneur Vivek Cintury, founder of Nature Gift and IIM graduate Anurag Aggarwal, co-founder of Parvata Foods, among others after inaugurating an exhibition on organic products.

“Modiji asked about my products. I shared how I started this new venture taking loan from the Prime Minister Employment Guarantee Fund,” Cintury said. Cintury’s startup firm Nature Gift was set up in 2013 and now has a processing capacity of 200 tonnes for ginger, turmeric, buckwheat and millets. He sells processed organic products not only in Sikkim but also supplies to companies like Lucknow-based Organic India, Jaipur-based Vision Organic, among others.

Similarly, Parvata Foods was set up in 2013 by two young entrepreneurs soon after passing out from IIM, Ahmedabad.  “We started with our own funds. We saw farmers were selling their produce in Siliguri. So, we decided to tap the potential,” company’s co-founder Aggarwal said.

The company has partnered with New Delhi’s Mother Dairy for supply of organic turmeric and ginger through 372 Safal retail outlets, he said.

Image Courtesy: The Indian Express