Somashekar, an MBA from a top B-school with corporate FMCG experience, learned this the hard way when his father was diagnosed with kidney disease. Due to this painful experience, he associated the unhealthy diet with an increase in fatal diseases. Something stirred inside Somashekhar over increasing instances of farmers’ suicides in India. These two realizations guided Somashekar to abandon the corporate world and take up his passion to bring about change. This pursuit resulted in him setting up the Adithi Millets in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.  

Organic farming in a new era  

Somashekar realized the impact of employing various chemicals to ripe the produce and thus vowed to achieve organic farming once again. While many new startups got caught up in the promotion of organic farming, Somashekar did not delude himself into thinking that it was an uncharted territory. There are a lot of farmers in India who once used to practice organic method of farming but soon they shifted to chemical pesticides for the lure of quick results. Today, through the brand Adithi Millets Somashekar materialized his dream to support these methods to practice a healthier and more sustainable agriculture.  

Growing Together 

From a humble beginning working with thirty farmers in 2017, Adithi Millets has expanded itself into a business entity sourcing products from more than two hundred farmers through seven villages in Kurnool district. This growth also explains Somashekar’s embrace of sustainable farming practices and a genuine focus on community uplift. The main commoditized product by Adithi Millets is millets— nutritional, cost-effective to cultivate, and economically profitable for producers and end users.  
To further this cause, the company has adopted the “Millets to Millions” ethos that seeks to share the goodness of this wonder grain. Adithi Millets benefits farmers with a minimum guaranteed pitch price and free seeds which provide them stable income. 

More Than Just Business: Social Responsibility  

Adithi Millets has the passionate approach of giving back more than financial returns for business. In assisting the family who lost their farmer due to suicide, the company gives them an option to start a new form of endeavor like provision of sewing machines and rearing of animals. Somashekar even provided a real-life example of how the re-cropping methodologies of Adithi Millets help a farmer like K Hemadri Reddy to double profit they make from crops.  

Within the timeframe of three years, Adithi Millets had made a turnover of Rs 2 crore, which indicates the efficacy of blending commerce with welfare. The story of Somashekar Pogula who went from being an employee in a multinational firm to spearheading change in a village is a good example of the effect an individual can have on the lives of many people. His experience with Adithi Millets provides an inspiring example showing that business and social benefits can go hand in hand and bring people’s transformations and hope for better lives.