“It’s our mission to leave this world better than we found it,” says Anil Jain, CEO of Jain Irrigation Systems Limited. The company started as a local pipe manufacturer in India, and has since grown to be a leading manufacturer of irrigation equipment with thirteen manufacturing plants in India, 17 overseas, and a workforce of 11,500 people. Its annual turnover has grown to more than US$1 billion.
When the company was established thirty years ago, its products were provided to 25,000 farmers in India. Now, Jain Irrigation caters to the demands of 5 million Indian farmers annually. Starting with a base of 5 countries, Jain Irrigation has expanded to cater to the needs of agriculture in 116 countries, and with a mission to change agriculture in developing countries such as India, Jain Irrigation products offer improved productivity and cost savings to poor farmers with small landholdings. Their mantra, ‘More Crop Per DropTM’ embodies the company’s promise to farmers: that they can produce more with fewer resources.
Anil and his 3 brothers now run the company, which was founded by their late father, Bhavarlal, a towering visionary. They work together to achieve the company’s goals and realise Bhavarlal’s dreams.
“Almost 50% of our business today is micro-irrigation, or irrigation technology that saves water and aids productivity for farmers,” says Anil. “About 20% of our business is piping, which we supply to farmers and which is used for infrastructure projects including water, gas, and cables. About 22% of our current business is food processing — buying from farmers. We add value, process the food, and sell it to large global food companies like Coca-Cola Amitil, Nestlé, and Unilever as fruit juice, fruit concentrate, and dried vegetables. Further, about 10% of our business is in agro-appliance, including biotechnology. We also produce some renewable energy products like solar water pumps and solar streetlights, and have started a finance company to provide low-cost, easily accessible loans to small farmers in India.”