Covid-19 has shown that food value chains are unnecessarily complex and unreasonably fragile. Agriculture in Tamil Nadu during pandemic - tons of fresh vegetables and fruits dumped; acres of flowers being mowed; crops unharvested in the fields for want of labor, storage, and buyers; and farmers’ livelihoods becoming precarious during harvest season. Society steps up to help. But, assistance does not arrive on time to make a difference. Small farmers are left to fend off livelihood disaster on their own.Janani is providing an emergency helpline to farmers and producer groups in our network during current Covid-19 lockdowns. Helpline issues are being solved on a case by case basis through our extended connections. But, we realize that a tech-based helpline, geocoded contact info, basic farm-level data, localized crisis mitigation toolkits, two-way messaging, mass notification capabilities, distributed ground team, and data analytics are critical assets during calamities. This is the seed for Janani 108.Janani 108 is envisioned as an emergency helpline that farmers can access through the mobile app, phone call, or text message. It will help small farmers survive pandemic-related economic crises by accessing various government, civil society, corporate, and local community programs for relief in a timely manner. Over the long-term, it will grow into a permanent service for farmers to build resilience so they can face future emergencies, especially the many climate calamities.

Resilience - we're improving the broader infrastructure for responding to pandemic outbreaks.,Recovery - we're positioned to support in the recovery of those directly affected.,Response - we're responding directly to issues caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak.

I have a market ready product/service. I have sold to customers.

Janani is the marketplace platform developed by Krishi Janani PBC, a Delaware public benefit corporation. During prototype phase (2016-2020), Janani’s network has grown to serve 10,000+ farmers, 27 partners, and 6 crop value chains. This is evidence of our traction. A mobile app based digital expansion across all of Tamil Nadu is already in the works.Our unique strength is the combination of technology and field experience. Janani 108 will be a module in the mobile app built with React Native and available on Google and iOS app stores. This will save wait times for app approval. A short code (KRISHI) to send out mass text messages is ready. We already have geocoded mobile phone numbers for network members.The best solution will be a mix of great technology, field operations trusted by the farmers, and a program design that is sensitive to local contexts. More importantly, the right team will ensure that the helpline is a long-term service.The company is founded by Usha Devi Venkatachalam, a social entrepreneur who has implemented technology solutions for social change in over 20 countries. Her expertise combined with her family’s agricultural roots brought her back to India in 2016 to start Krishi Janani. Current team of 12 include managers & field staff from farming communities specializing in agronomy, marketing, supply chain and logistics. Our international advisory board, including two angel investors, bring broad experience and wide network to support our mission.

Krishi Janani is a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation with headquarters in Washington, DC. Currently, our operations are in Tamil Nadu state in India.There are 3.2 million farmers in Tamil Nadu. More than 80% are small farmers who cultivate under 5 acres and own 1 or 2 dairy cows. Harvested crops and small dairy provide primary income. Many take on non-farm jobs to make ends meet.There is a growing agrarian/environmental crisis on the one hand and an exploding demand for organic produce on the other. Janani connects those two seemingly contradictory trends in an offline + online marketplace. Through Janani, our multi-sided marketplace, we aspire to promote the regenerative agriculture sector across all of Tamil Nadu and reach one million farmers during the growth phase (2020 – 2023).Our ambitious goal is to scale beyond our current operational borders in 2023. During the scale phase, the core technology platform and a how-to kit for creating a multi-sided marketplace will be packaged and licensed to national and global franchisees. This will enable our partners to create Janani in other states in India and beyond.

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