Mohd Ashraf, 20, of Jamalpura village, whose father Saif-ur-Rehman was among the first to join the GMED-ITC partnership, is also appreciative about the venture. “It saves us the cost of going to the mandi. We get a fixed price every day, which is almost always better than that of the mandi, where price varies from hour to hour. Also, there is more transparency in weighing and we get our money the very next day.”

Now farmers hope that the partnership will widen their market, which in turn will assure them enduring profits instead of the seasonal gluts that have them dumping their produce on the streets. Taylor, who is now holding parleys with other corporates like Reliance to replicate the model, certainly hopes to do so. “With the retail sector booming, the demand is so great that the farmers need not worry. Our aim is to introduce as many marginal farmers as possible to the supply chain so that farming becomes a profitable enterprise for them.”

His goal: a million farmers in the supply chain in the next five years.