Natural Fibre Board

AGRO NATIVE

Natural Fibre Board

Establishing a Natural Fibre Board to develop rural handloom & farming communities through value addition

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

IND

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

The textile industry in India, second only to agriculture, employs around 35 million people. Rooted in the freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi, who promoted Khadi as a symbol of nationalism, this sector faces challenges today, particularly for handloom weavers competing against power looms. Weavers and farmers are interconnected, both affected by low income, lack of credit, and inadequate marketing. This has led to a decline in younger generations pursuing these trades; for instance, the number of weavers under 35 dropped from 2.61 million in 2009-10 to 1.61 million in 2019-20. Agriculture, while the main livelihood for two-thirds of rural households—93% of whom are small and marginal farmers—contributes only 0.9% to GDP. According to NABARD's 2016-17 survey, 61% of farmers are in debt, earning just ₹9,975 per month. Challenges include a harsh regulatory environment, lack of financial support, insufficient cold storage and processing facilities, and outdated machinery, all of which hinder the sustainability of both the textile and agricultural sectors. The current trend of unemployment in the country has risen from 0.9% in 2019 to 49.8% in April 2020, thereby increasing population in metropolitan cities due to mass migration of rural communities.

Agro Native is keen on developing a Natural Fibre Board in Tamil Nadu, where we will leverage our knowledge of farmers and processors, open markets, consumer acceptance, global volatility and geopolitical realities to provide security, stability and equity for the affected and underinvested communities. Our understanding of the past and current processing systems, market integration and product avenue realisation allows us to deliver the most efficient and sustainable solutions. Our key solution is value addition and we are on a mission to establish a worldwide innovative hub for sustainable fibres in consumer and industrial applications. Our ability to find uses for all these fibre crops and crop outputs allows us to facilitate proper growth to improve the economic status of vulnerable communities, handloom weavers(forgotten) and farmers(oppressed).

The Board has the potential to employ unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workforce, with more emphasis on the underinvested communities aiming to enhance economic growth, industrial development, trade opportunities, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic benefits for local communities. Since natural fibres are sourced from remote parts of the country, it provides employment for the locals in small towns and settlements, thereby reducing migration. Migration is a serious issue for metropolitan cities where the rural population migrate in large numbers and the city's resources cannot handle the influx of people. The 2001 Census indicates that migrants to Chennai from other parts of Tamil Nadu constituted 74.5% of the city's population. This figure includes both rural and urban areas, but it highlights the significant influx of people from other parts of the state, likely including rural areas, seeking opportunities in the city. Even if they come to the city, they do odd jobs like cleaning sewages manually, long hours standing in textile shops or the worst, is that they get dragged into illegal activities due to their financial desperation. Our solution will keep them in their respective home towns with the work that they specialise in, farming and allied sectors.