The Story of 1706 Shareholder Farmers Bringing India’s Native Grains Back to the Dining Table!
For generations, Indian farmers have worked tirelessly to grow crops, yet most of the value has been captured after harvest through processing and branding. Inspired by this challenge, Bhanu Pratap Singh, Meraj Khan, and Shashank Raj came together with a vision to change the way farmers earn.
How It Started: Saving the Seeds Our Grandparents Grew
Most of the grains we eat today come from modern hybrid varieties. They have increased crop yields, but over time the nutritional value and quality of our food have declined. At the same time, indigenous native varieties of seeds — traditional grains like Khapli, Sonamoti, Bansi wheat and Kala Namak rice from Siddharth Nagar — were slowly disappearing, because farmers had stopped growing them due to lower yields.
Yet these heritage grains carry remarkable health benefits. With a glycemic index below 55, they release sugar slowly into the body and are considered a better option for people with diabetes.
To bring these grains back to farmers’ fields and consumers’ plates, the team worked closely with farmers to restart their cultivation. This mission led to the establishment of BMS Organic Farmer Producer Company in 2020.
The First Big Challenge: Purity Without Preservatives
The biggest challenge was increasing the shelf life of flour without using preservatives.
Within a few weeks, the quality of the flour would start declining, and retailers often returned the products. Adding preservatives would have been the easiest solution — but the founders refused to compromise on purity.
After months of trials and many failed batches, the answer came in the form of vacuum packaging.
Today, every pack of BMS flour is vacuum packed before it reaches the customer — a challenge truly turned into a strength.
Where BMS Organic Stands Today
BMS Organic today works with indigenous native seed varieties such as Khapli, Sonamoti, Bansi, Lokwan and Kathiya wheat, Desi Chickpea, Arhar and Kala Namak rice.
1706 Shareholder Farmers are directly connected with the FPO, and through 50+ Associate FPOs, the network has grown to nearly 50,000 farmers.
BMS supports these FPOs withgrading, processing and packaging, and markets their products under the BMS Naturals brand through bmsnaturals.com, Amazon, Flipkart and 1000+ retail stores in Lucknow.
Last financial year, the turnover crossed ₹5 Crore.
The Road Ahead
This is only the beginning. The goal is to expand processing capacity, connect more farmers and FPOs across India, and make traditional grains available to more families. BMS is also setting up a Biochar Production Unit in Sitapur to improve soil fertility, promote sustainable farming and produce healthier, high-quality food.
More Than One FPO — A Farmers’ Movement
“This is not just the story of one FPO. It is the story of more than 1,50,000 farmers working together to bring traditional, healthy grains back to Indian families,” says Bhanu Pratap Singh.
