INTERVIEW | Dr. Ravindra Pastor on e-Fasal’s Mission to Empower Last-mile Agroretailers

Agriculture is more than just a profession—it is a pathway to prosperity deeply rooted in India’s heritage. e-Fasal is on a mission to revolutionize the agro-input business by empowering last-mile agro-retailers with a transparent, efficient, and market-relevant supply chain. By simplifying the procurement process and enhancing access to high-quality agro-inputs, e-Fasal has already partnered with over 3,500 agro-retailers, creating a sustainable and thriving agricultural ecosystem. With a team of passionate professionals, many from farming backgrounds, e-Fasal bridges the gap between manufacturers and retailers, ensuring that farmers receive the best inputs at the right price.

In an exclusive conversation with Agrotech Space, Dr. Ravindra Pastor, Founder of e-Fasal, shares insights on how the company is transforming agro-retail, overcoming industry challenges, leveraging technology and shaping the future of Indian agriculture. Following are the edited excerpts from the interview:

Agrotech Space: What inspired you to start e-Fasal, and what gaps did you see in the agricultural sector that led to its creation?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: I was born and raised in a village where my family’s primary occupation was farming. Since childhood, I have witnessed the challenges farmers face and the opportunities that exist in this sector. Later in life, I joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and served in the Madhya Pradesh cadre, retiring as a Principal Secretary after nearly 38 years in government service.

During my tenure, I worked extensively on government policies and schemes related to agriculture, rural development, and livelihood improvement. For about 14 years, I was actively involved in the Rural Development Department, Mandi Board, and KPMC (Krishi Upaj Mandi Committees) in Madhya Pradesh. This deep exposure strengthened my interest in agriculture, and before retiring, I had already decided to contribute to this sector.

To address inefficiencies in the agricultural supply chain, we developed a franchise-based model tailored for the sector. Along with my co-founder, Ms. Anandita Das, we launched e-Fasal. Ms. Das had prior experience working with farmers before pursuing an MBA from ISB Hyderabad. She later worked with IL&FS in their livelihood division and then with the Rockefeller Foundation on renewable energy projects. She eventually resigned from her job, and after my retirement in 2017, we officially registered e-Fasal as a startup.

Agrotech Space: What challenges did you face in the early days of e-Fasal, and what were the difficulties in setting up the business?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: The early days were very tough because we had to test various business strategies to start the business. There are also certain entry barriers in this sector. In the agriculture sector, particularly in the input supply sector, you have to obtain licenses from the government for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, bio-products, and horticulture seeds. Then, you need to secure dealership and distributorship rights from various manufacturers. In our country, the Seed Control Act, Fertilizer Control Act, and Pesticide Control Act are central laws, but the rules for implementing them are different in every state. Each state has developed its own set of rules, so the procedure for obtaining licenses varies across states.

Another challenge was securing dealership rights from manufacturers. They issue authorizations for fertilizers through ‘O’ Form under the Fertilizer Control Act and provide a Principal Certificate for pesticides and seeds under their respective Acts. Without the manufacturer’s permission, it is not possible to supply their materials to farmers or other shopkeepers. The problem is that manufacturers generally operate through a traditional dealer-distributor network, where every company has regional distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and sub-retailers. These distributors usually serve a small area, typically within a 5 to 10-kilometer radius.

When we started working across multiple areas or even at a national level, many companies were hesitant to provide ‘O’ form and Principal Certificates. They feared that introducing a new business model would disrupt their existing marketing system. Another challenge was pricing and product availability. Since agriculture is a seasonal activity, there is strong competition among companies, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. These were the major challenges we faced while starting our business in the agri-input sector.

Agrotech Space: How does e-Fasal’s model work, and how does it help small agro-retailers?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: There are usually four middlemen between the manufacturer and the farmer—regional distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and sub-retailers. When a farmer buys a product, they have to pay for the profit margins of all four, and the quality is not always assured.

More than 80% of farmers in our country are small and marginal, with land holdings of one hectare or less. Their input requirements are low, so they usually buy from small shopkeepers in their villages. However, these shopkeepers struggle to get supplies because large manufacturers, including multinational and national companies, do not appoint small retailers as dealers or distributors. These companies prefer working with big traders to maintain records, accounts, and supply chains. To solve this problem, we developed a franchise model.

This way, small shopkeepers get direct access to materials, eliminating at least two middlemen from the supply chain. This reduces costs, minimizes multiple handling, and allows materials to be delivered efficiently from manufacturers or warehouses directly to shopkeepers, saving time. This is how we have structured the e-Fasal franchise model.

Agrotech Space: How does e-Fasal ensure transparency and efficiency in the supply chain, and is your focus only on the garlic value chain?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: We aggregate demand from small shopkeepers, invest our own money, and book materials in advance from manufacturers. This ensures availability and stable pricing for all our franchisees. We are not limited to the garlic value chain. We have started purchasing various agri-commodities directly from farmers, including oranges, garlic, onions, potatoes, maize, and soybeans, and we supply them directly to national-level stockists, wholesalers, and processors.

Agrotech Space: How does e-Fasal provides technical support to farmers along with product supply?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: Since our model is B2B2C, we connect farmers with our franchisees and seek support from manufacturers. We organize farmers’ meetings, training sessions, and product demonstrations with manufacturers.

We have a highly experienced senior technical team in our office. Whenever farmers or shopkeepers have any queries about products or face any issues, our team provides guidance and suggestions to support them.

Agrotech Space: What are the major challenges that farmers and agri-retailers face in India today?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: The biggest challenge in the agriculture market is selling farm produce. In India, two key factors affect this. First is the law of inheritance—when a landowner passes away, their land is divided among legal heirs. Over time, landholdings keep shrinking, and according to the latest Economic Survey by the Government of India, the average landholding is now just 0.5 hectares.

With such small land sizes, farmers need fewer inputs, but since there are four middlemen in the supply chain, they end up paying higher prices for seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. On the other hand, when they sell their produce, they must go to the Mandi (marketplace), where the commodity market is controlled by three types of buyers—national-level stockists, processors, and exporters. These buyers have three basic requirements: large quantity, consistent quality, and competitive pricing.

Small and marginal farmers cannot meet these requirements, so their produce passes through multiple traders in the supply chain—about six to seven middlemen—before it reaches the end user. At each stage, the product is graded and resold, adding costs while farmers receive a lower price.

A major issue is the lack of fair average quality (FAQ) norms from the central and state governments. When farmers bring their crops to the Mandi, they do not categorize them into A, B, C, or D grades because there are no official grading standards for them. Instead, licensed traders (with APMC licenses) visually inspect the produce, determine a grade without informing the farmer, and then participate in an auction.

Since farmers sell ungraded produce, traders buy it at a lower price, grade it themselves, and later sell it based on quality, securing higher profits. This lack of transparency in grading results in low earnings for farmers, affecting their ability to invest in quality seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. Because farmers minimize expenses due to price uncertainty, agricultural productivity in India remains low. Compared to both Western and Asian countries, India’s per hectare crop yield is significantly lower. This is one of the biggest challenges in the sector today.

Agrotech Space: How does e-Fasal help farmers overcome these challenges?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: We are working on setting up e-Harit Vyapar Kendra, a fully developed center that will support farmers. Over the last 25 years, individual farmers in India have formed crop-wise clusters at the macro level. These clusters include crops like maize, paddy, soybean, wheat, gram, tur, onion, potato, garlic, and coriander, with each state having its own clusters.

Within these clusters, all farmers grow the same crop, but they use different seed varieties and different farming practices, making it difficult for them to sell directly to wholesalers or processors. To address this, each e-Harit Vyapar Kendra will have around 400 farmer members who will decide on a specific crop and variety to grow.

e-Fasal will then provide them with a standardized package of practices, ensuring that all 400 farmers follow the same cultivation methods. Although they will work individually on their own land, their produce will have consistent quality and be available in large quantities, making it easier to sell at competitive prices.

This is the full model of e-Fasal, which we are currently implementing partially. As we secure more resources, we will expand and establish these centers in different regions.

Agrotech Space: How does e-Fasal use technology to improve its services in the agriculture sector?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: While we do not have a dedicated mobile app for buying or selling directly to farmers, we have integrated technology in other ways to enhance our operations. Our primary focus is on connecting with shopkeepers, who in turn maintain direct contact with farmers. These shopkeepers have lists and contact details of the farmers they serve, which allows for efficient communication.

To facilitate seamless interaction, shopkeepers use social media platforms like WhatsApp to send updates, product availability, and promotional messages to farmers. This ensures that farmers stay informed and can place their queries easily. Whenever farmers have questions about products, they can post them in these groups and receive timely responses and guidance.

By using these digital tools, we streamline processes, ensuring faster delivery, better inventory management, and improved financial tracking. Technology plays a crucial role in making our operations more transparent, cost-effective, and responsive to the needs of both shopkeepers and farmers.

Agrotech Space: Agriculture is essential for sustaining the population, and its demand continues to grow. How does e-Fasal ensure long-term sustainability in its operations?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: Over the past seven years, e-Fasal has grown rapidly—our team has expanded, and our network has strengthened. Agriculture is the most essential sector for sustaining our population. We witnessed this even during the COVID-19 period when most businesses came to a halt. Despite numerous challenges, agricultural activities continued, and in fact, we experienced significant growth during that difficult time.

Sustainability is not a concern in this sector because there is always a steady demand for agricultural inputs. Farmers consistently require high-quality materials and good prices for their produce. The real challenge, however, lies in technology adoption. While farmers today are becoming more technologically aware, their adaptation to e-commerce and digital platforms is still slow. Implementing new technologies in the agriculture sector is time-consuming and costly, making it difficult for startups to introduce large-scale digital solutions without government support.

The Government of India is actively working on policy changes and supporting startups by sharing digital records and other resources. This is a positive step toward strengthening the sector. With continued government support, we believe the future of agriculture will become more technologically advanced and efficient. At e-Fasal, we are also leveraging these opportunities to integrate data-driven solutions and improve our operations.

Agrotech Space: How many agro-retailers are currently associated with e-Fasal, and what are your plans for expansion?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: At present, more than 3,500 retailers have registered with e-Fasal and are purchasing materials from us. We are continuously expanding and refining our operations.

Before entering new regions, we focus on two key aspects: structure and process. We need to establish the right supply chain framework from e-Fasal to the market and ensure our operational processes are efficient. We are currently testing different approaches to optimize these systems. Once we finalize them, we will expand into other states and new territories.

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Agrotech Space: Has e-Fasal collaborated with any partners or organizations that have played a key role in its growth?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: Yes, we have collaborated with various suppliers, NBFC partners, and technology partners. Business is all about partnerships and collaboration—it is impossible to grow or operate in isolation. That is why e-Fasal is constantly seeking new partners and finalizing collaborations.

The full name of e-Fasal is Electronics Farming Solutions Associates Limited, and the name itself reflects our approach. There are two key aspects: Electronics and Associates. Electronic data allows for easy collection and analysis, while Associates represents our commitment to working through partnerships.

Our goal is to provide 360-degree services to farmers. While e-Fasal develops its core platform, we actively build partnerships with other stakeholders to enhance our offerings.

We already have multiple partners on board and continue to expand our network.

Agrotech Space: What is your long-term vision for e-Fasal, and where do you see the company in the next 5 to 10 years?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: The challenges in the agriculture sector, such as land inheritance laws, are not going to change. Land ownership is deeply connected to both psychology and economics, and as a result, land division will continue. This makes a model like e-Fasal essential for the market. Our focus is on standardizing farming practices, developing crop clusters, enabling collective buying and selling, and reducing the supply chain at both ends.

Our goal is to expand across India, particularly in areas with small and marginal farmers, ensuring they benefit from a simplified and efficient agro-input system.

Agrotech Space: What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs who want to make an impact in the agriculture sector?

Dr. Ravindra Pastor: With the growth of Startup India and the evolving ecosystem, universities and colleges are now discussing agriculture startups as well. While agriculture startups may not seem as glamorous as e-commerce or software ventures, agriculture remains the foundation of the Indian economy, employing over 45% of the population.

There is a huge need for young, talented individuals to enter this sector. They can study real-world challenges, develop technology-driven solutions, and work directly with farmers, shopkeepers, and supply chains. The agriculture sector is vast, booming, and a priority for both the central and state governments, making it a great opportunity for new entrepreneurs.

A degree in agriculture is not necessary—this sector has diverse challenges that require different skill sets. Anyone with an idea can test and build their business in agriculture. If anyone is looking for collaboration, e-Fasal offers opportunities to use its resources, form partnerships, and start working in this space. I welcome anyone who wants to contribute to this sector.