Projects
One of our greatest advantages is our vast grower network – we currently work with over 80,000 organic & natural farmers. Suminter’s primary supply of organic & natural products comes directly from its farm projects in nine Indian states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Mizoram. Having such a broad and diverse supply chain allows us to always provide our customers with the best quality products that meet their exact specifications.
In all our projects, we promote organic & natural agriculture and guide our farmers through training and certification. We encourage the concept of ‘zero-cost’ farming by providing them with seeds and training to use various bio-manures, bio-pesticides and composting methods. This procedure lifts the burden of upfront costs (of seeds and other inputs) off of the farmers and enables them to produce high-quality, certified organic products.
Our Extensive Reach
Our Extensive Reach
One of our greatest advantages is our vast grower network – we currently work with over 80,000 organic farmers. Suminter’s primary supply of organic products comes directly from its farm projects in nine Indian states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Mizoram. Having such a broad and diverse supply chain allows us to always provide our customers with the best quality products that meet their exact specifications.
In all our projects, we promote organic agriculture and guide our farmers through training and certification. We encourage the concept of ‘zero-cost’ farming by providing them with seeds and training to use various bio-manures, bio-pesticides and composting methods. This procedure lifts the burden of upfront costs (of seeds and other inputs) off of the farmers and enables them to produce high-quality, certified organic products.
What makes Suminter’s model unique is its focus on the economic development of the farmer partners. We strive to empower our farmers by providing continuing education in organic & natural farming methods and promoting sustainable technologies. For example, some farmers have been able to harvest twice as many crops annually by adopting techniques demonstrated by our ground force. They taught farmers how to maximize their own farm input production by utilizing locally available herbs for fertility and pest management, promoting the farming of low water consumption crops and techniques such as drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting. This knowledge in practice has significantly improved the economic viability of these farms and the well-being of these farm families.
Economic Wellness
Suminter is committed to the economic wellness of its farmers, and this is reflected in our Fairtrade practices. Our organic & natural cotton project in Gujarat has been certified Fair Trade since 2008 by FLOCERT GmbH, the global Fairtrade inspection and certification body located in Germany. The cotton project serves 5480 farmers and covers 15,930 acres. In 2007, Suminter formed the Gujarat Sustainable & Organic Farmers Association (GSOFA) which was built on the principle of consensus, democracy and transparency. We serve as advisors to the committee and assist in executing yearly plans. Over the years, Suminter has supported various socio-economic development projects related to water, livestock production, environmental resources conservation and funeral grounds.