bigbasket connects 50,000 farmers across 16 states on Kisan Diwas

Seshu Kumar Tirumala, Chief Buying and Merchandising Officer of bigbasket, is seen with a farmer.

On Kisan Diwas, bigbasket, a TATA Enterprise, has said that it has reached 50,000 registered farmers across 16 states through a network of more than 120 farm-gate collection centres.

A media statement said this initiative enables farmers to access organised markets directly and reinforces bigbasket’s commitment to building a transparent, efficient, and farmer-centric fresh produce supply chain.

bigbasket began its direct engagement with farmers in 2015 with its first collection centre at Malur near Bengaluru. Over the past decade, the company has steadily expanded this model pan-India, enabling farmers to access organised markets directly from their villages and reducing dependence on traditional intermediaries.

Through this network, farmers supply fruits and vegetables directly to bigbasket, with the company ensuring payments within 48 hours of Goods Receipt Note (GRN) directly into their bank accounts, it said.

400 agri graduates team

The backbone of bigbasket’s sourcing operations is its on-ground team of more than 400 agricultural graduates, including one agronomist at every collection centre. These agronomists work closely with registered farmers daily, mapping fields and crops using bigbasket’s in-house Farmus app, which enables geotagging of farms, crop estimation, and harvest forecasting. Farmers are also guided on cultivating high-demand, high-return crops aligned with bigbasket’s requirements.

Quoting Seshu Kumar Tirumala, Chief Buying and Merchandising Officer of bigbasket, the statement said: “Our relationship with farmers is central to how we think about building the fresh food ecosystem. As this network has grown, the focus has been on long-term trust, consistent engagement, and shared value creation, rather than short-term procurement. That approach has shaped how our sourcing model has scaled over the last decade.”

Organic sourcing push

In addition to conventional sourcing, bigbasket has built an organic sourcing ecosystem through 12 exclusive organic collection centres, supporting around 6,300 organic farmers. The company facilitates organic certification for these farmers at its own cost and deploys Jaivik Mitras, trained rural youth from local communities, to guide farmers on organic farming practices such as the preparation of Jeevamrutha, Beejamruth, and Neemastra, along with support for crop planning, the statement added.

Published on December 23, 2025