What more, their produce fetches them eight times more than the market value. If the rate of tulsi is Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kilo in the market, the firm buys it for, say, Rs 80 to Rs 90 per kilo.

For Organic India, too, the benefits are equally large. “This is because these farmers are producing pure organic tulsi, which fulfills the specifications of international market,” said Krishan Guptaa, the CEO and Managing Director of Organic India.

The production cost for the farmers, too, has gone down as they do not need to spend in chemical fertilisers. They do not have to worry about selling their produce either. The company not only provides them with organic manure but also reaches the field to buy the produce. The farmers have crop security because the company is a guaranteed buyer of their produce.

“The crop season is from January to June when the farmers are assisted by field managers and technical managers of the company for best yield,” adds Guptaa.

Meanwhile, the tulsi growers of UP have another task at hand these days — to supply one million saplings of tulsi for planting around Taj Mahal to check pollution. They have already handed more than 20,000 saplings on Republic Day to the district administration of Agra.

Tulsi Mahotsav

An agriculture festival called the Tulsi Mahotsav that celebrates the wonder herb Tulsi (holy basil) is held in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh every year. Organised by Organic India with its Tulsi farmers, the festival is held at the onset of winter. It seeks to honour Tulsi and pay tribute to Tulsi farmers who have converted the ravaged soil into fields of prosperity. This is the only festival in the world which celebrates the queen of herbs.