Written in February.

Shankar Venkataraman, a BITS Pilani graduate with a Master’s in Physics and Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, started his career as a chip designer. Ten years later, after having worked with some of the best companies in Silicon Valley, Mr. Venkatraman switched careers—choosing instead to become an organic farmer. Currently, he works as the chief executive of Mapletree Farms, a company that grows and distributes organic produce. The English Press Club spoke with Mr. Venkatraman to gain some insight into both the current state of organic farming in the country and his unique career.

Mr. Venkataraman’s tenure as a chip designer was varied. After receiving numerous promotions across a variety of firms, he ended his career as an engineer for Cisco’s US office. He worked there for six years and received regular call-ups to Italy and Germany during this time. It was during this stretch that his daughter was born. 

‘For the first six months, my daughter consumed her mother’s milk, and everything was fine’, said Mr. Venkataraman. ‘It was only when she switched to Emphamil, a milk substitute, that she started to develop skin problems.’ It was during this time that he started questioning the food that his family consumed on a daily basis. ‘If I was well-educated, successful in my profession, and knew the ways of the world, how come I didn’t know anything about what good food was?’ He also realised that he wasn’t alone in this dilemma. There were many people who were ignorant about their food sources, and that the magazines and articles they seemed to be relying on did not always contain scientifically accurate information.

After some research, he found that the umbilical cord contains blood with about 240 different chemicals, of which 70% could be carcinogenic. Some of these chemicals that are left behind in a child after birth, could only be neutralised with a proper diet. It was found that her immune system was already very weak and that her eczema was the consequence of her diet. The realization that his daughter suffered because of his errors weighed heavily on him, and he struggled with depression as a result.

He decided to leave his job. He settled down and took care of his daughter for some time, considering various methods of treatment. During this spell, he spent time reading about organic food and started to replace condiments from his home with healthy alternatives. He had heard from one of his good friends that soil contained microorganisms that improved one’s brain wave patterns, making them feel a little happier. This was when he decided that he wanted to become a farmer.

He started gardening in his backyard and sold whatever he grew with help from some of his friends. He travelled downstate to Salinas Valley, meeting different kinds of farmers and learning from them. Having finally decided to shift completely to farming, he bought a 23 acre piece of land in Vacaville, California. He continued to work his business—even while away from the country until 2015, when he decided to wind up his business on account of fierce competition from Mexican firms.

While visiting his mother in Chennai, he met with one of his friends who had helped him as a budding farmer in the US. Mr. Venkatraman requested him to visit him in Bangalore, where he was taken to the farming grounds of said friend’s company, Mapletree Farms. He proceeded to join Mapletree Farms as a consultant for two acres of land. After four months, he was asked to run the company and has been there since.

‘I feel that if I hadn’t gone to BITS Pilani, I wouldn’t be the man I am today’, Mr. Venakataraman said. According to him, in BITS, people are allowed to grow at their own pace. He claims that he was relatively immature before BITS and that he gained the ability to go out and do things only after speaking to his many classmates. 

‘Eating organically is like eating a nice home-cooked meal, and eating something chemically-grown is like living off of IV fluids; they both keep you alive, but there is a huge difference’, said Mr. Venkataraman while elaborating on the importance of eating organically. He feels that in our search for cheap prices and high yields, very little importance is given to organic farming. Chemical farming kills many important organisms that reside in the soil, like earthworms, which, through the use of their natural glues, help bind the soil and prevent erosion. The yield gained through farming chemically has only a fraction of the nutrients, which according to Mr. Venkatraman, has adverse effects on people’s health.

Using compost increases the quality of soil manifold. Because of a lack of high quality compost manufacturers in India, Mr. Venkatraman decided to start a compost company. He also argued that many people end up sterile because of the adverse effects weed-killers have on their bodies.

Mr. Venkatraman feels that the one thing BITSians could do to improve our eating habits, is to change the sources from which we get our food. He feels that while this would be a major undertaking, it could be worthwhile. According to him our current methods of buying in bulk from the vendors in Delhi could lead to BITSians consuming a lot of adulterated food.

As far as India is concerned, Mr. Venkatraman’s goals for India are to make organic farming as easy as chemical farming, all while reducing costs for organic farmers by improving their supply chain. He feels BITSians should find what they love, and do only what appeals to them; he believes that one can only find success while doing something that they have an interest in.