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.

A media statement said that this initiative will enable farmers to directly access organized markets and strengthen bigbasket’s commitment to building a transparent, efficient and farmer-centric fresh produce supply chain.

bigbasket started its direct association with farmers in 2015 with its first collection center in Malur, near Bengaluru. Over the past decade, the company has steadily expanded this model across India, allowing farmers to access organized markets directly from their villages and reducing dependence on traditional middlemen.

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

Team of 400 agricultural graduates

The backbone of bigbasket’s purchasing activities is its local team of more than 400 agricultural graduates, including one agronomist in each collection center. These agronomists work closely with registered farmers every day, mapping fields and crops using bigbasket’s in-house Farmus app, which enables farm geotagging, crop estimation and crop forecasting. Farmers are also guided in growing crops that are in high demand and yield high returns, in line with bigbasket requirements.

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

Organic purchasing push

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

Published on December 23, 2025