About Ahana

Ahana Organic refers to itself as a leader of “seed-to-table” organic farming in southeastern Uttar Pradesh, about 108 km from Varanasi, which sits surrounded by bush jungle and away from industrial pollution. Six decades on from when the farm first began life out of jungle, the team has engaged stewardship synergistically with a series of steady, tangible milestones: a reforestation undertaking to protect indigenous, often medicinal, flora; check-dams that create lakes and promote the recharging of underground aquifers in a region afflicted by drought conditions; and a diversified orchard system lent connections to local plants through intercropping. They also follow strict international organic standards (have EcoCert certification), and have established a seed bank to protect the disappearing Indian varieties, and are currently cultivating various types of paddy, pulses, wheat, millets, and oilseeds. Notably, their planned tree cover expansion from 25 acres to 300 acres by the year 2025, as part of their plan to establish a low-carbon agricultural ecosystem. 

The beneficiaries of Ahana Organic include local rural stakeholders and end-users. At the local level, their water-management structures and reforestation activities support a drought-responsive landscape, promoting aquifer health improvement and community resilience (an impact aligned with their “socially inclusive” aspirations). At the downstream end, they are beneficiaries, providing consumers, retailers, and businesses with organically grown foods and artisanal products in India and the EU, via packaged, bulk, and white-label. (The more general community impact from aquifer recharge is an extrapolation  of the farm’s stated interventions happening in an area under drought from outside observation.)