Leadership Talk Series: Exclusive Chat with Ms. Garima Jain, CEO AgroCorp India
“India needs smart farming and better crop management to develop sustainable agriculture” — Ms. Garima Jain
Focus Agritech had the opportunity to interact with Ms. Garima Jain, former CEO of AgroCorp India. With over 14 years of experience in commodity trading, supply chain management, and risk management, she provided strategic direction to build a sustainable business at AgroCorp India. An alumna of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT, New Delhi) and Harvard Business School’s Senior Leadership Program, Ms. Jain is a thought leader in agritech.
2025 Update: AgroCorp India and Ms. Garima Jain’s New Role
Since 2020, AgroCorp India, a subsidiary of AgroCorp International, has continued its focus on commodity trading, particularly pulses via its Sansar dal brand, available on Amazon, Flipkart, and retailers like Le Marche. The company, with 201-500 employees and $8.4M in revenue (2020), leverages blockchain for efficient cross-continent trade, though no new India-specific initiatives were reported for 2024-2025.
Ms. Garima Jain transitioned to Deputy CEO and Head of Grains, India at Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) in 2024, bringing her 18+ years of experience to drive grain trading and agribusiness innovation. At LDC, she spoke at the Maize & Millet Summit 2024, emphasizing agribusiness dynamics. No new CEO for AgroCorp India has been announced. AgroCorp aligns with India’s $580.82B agriculture market (projected by 2028, 4.9% CAGR), supported by market reforms like the Farmers Bill, which Ms. Jain endorsed in 2020.
Pandemic Response
Focus Agritech: How has AgroCorp India managed business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Ms. Garima Jain: COVID-19 was unprecedented. We ensured discipline and proactiveness, encouraging work-from-home for our distributed workforce across five Indian regions. We established support systems for effective remote work and provided safety advisories for essential fieldwork.
Farmers Bill Impact
Focus Agritech: What are your views on the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020?
Ms. Garima Jain: It’s a positive step, enabling farmers to trade freely for better remuneration and corporates to integrate Indian agriculture with global markets. It’s a win-win, transferring market risk to secured returns for farmers via pre-harvest contracts.
Open Market Facilitation
Focus Agritech: What’s needed to facilitate information flow, delivery, and transaction settlement under the open market concept?
Ms. Garima Jain: The open market allows trading anywhere, treating production sites as trading places. Farmers need good roads, logistics, and real-time information. Contract sanctity and quick dispute resolution via the three-level mechanism (Conciliation Board, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Appellate Authority) are crucial, alongside accessible electronic trading platforms.
Blockchain Trading
Focus Agritech: What are AgroCorp India’s plans for end-to-end digital trade executions using blockchain?
Ms. Garima Jain: Blockchain offers a framework for digitized trade, reducing traditional trading times from a month to save time and money. Following AgroCorp International’s successful cross-continent wheat trade, we’re excited to extend this platform in India.
Technology Use Cases
Focus Agritech: What are good use cases for technology in agriculture commodity trading and processing?
Ms. Garima Jain: India needs precision agriculture for sustainable farming, using:
- Smart sensors to optimize pesticide and fertilizer use
- AI for weather forecasting to manage monsoon variability
- Drones for crop monitoring, pest control, and data collection
- Smartphone-controlled irrigation systems
Agritech Startup Potential
Focus Agritech: With 450+ agritech startups, what growth do you see?
Ms. Garima Jain: India’s young population (65% aged 25-35) drives startup potential. Opportunities exist in soil and yield management, scientific production estimates, grading, and storage. Startups can deliver scalable, impactful solutions for socio-economic transformation.
AgroCorp India Priorities
Focus Agritech: What are your priorities at AgroCorp India?
Ms. Garima Jain: AgroCorp is a global leader in pulses, vital for nutrition. In India, we launched Sansar dals (chana, tur, moong, urad, masoor) during COVID-19, ensuring safe, hygienic packaging. Available at Le Marche, Spencers, Walmart, Amazon, and Flipkart, Sansar supports our nutrient-rich diet mission.
Vote of Thanks
Focus Agritech would like to thank Ms. Garima Jain for sharing her rich and vast experience across multiple facets of agriculture commodity trading. We see tremendous growth for AgroCorp India under her able leadership and wish her the very best for all her future endeavors. We would continue to support her efforts and vision to bring ‘Transformation in Indian agriculture through Digitization’.