450+ Farmers Join Gandhinagar Meet on Better Agronomy, Contract Farming & Digital Connectivity

Gandhinagar | 17 September 2026

More than 450 potato farmers from Gandhinagar district participated in a farmer workshop organised by Mantra Agri Solutions in collaboration with Potato Intel, focused on building a more productive, profitable and sustainable potato crop through scientific agronomy, timely decision-making and structured market linkages.

The program combined expert agronomy guidance, digital connectivity through Potato Bazaar and Mantra’s upcoming contract farming program, giving farmers a perspective from crop planning right through to market access.

Strengthening Agronomy Support for Farmers

The program began with an introduction to the initiative and the experts who would support farmers during the coming season.

Dr. Anuj Bhatnagar, formerly a scientist with CPRI and now associated with Mantra Agri Solutions, was introduced to the farmers. He will also be associated with the Potato Bazaar team, helping provide expert guidance on agronomy-related challenges raised by farmers.

The program was attended by Mr. Jaideep Bhatia, CEO, Mantra Agri Solutions, prominent farmer and business partner Mr. Ashok Patidar (Farmer Leader), Ashish Kumar, Ram Babu Goyal senior representatives from Haldiram, along with Tina Bhai, Jayesh Bhagat, JigarBhai and other industry representatives.

Potato Bazaar: Connecting Farmers Digitally

Potato Bazaar presented its digital platform, demonstrating how it brings different parts of the potato ecosystem together and provides farmers access to market information, mandi prices, Buy & Sell opportunities and other potato-related services.
The team also provided live demonstrations at its stall, with more than 115 farmers downloading the app during the programme and exploring its features.

Potato Intel: Scientific Agronomy from Soil to Harvest

The centrepiece of the workshop was a nearly three-hour technical session led by Mr. Harsh Patel, Founder, Potato Intel, and Purvi Patel (Founder) focused on the factors that determine success in potato cultivation.

The session went beyond conventional crop recommendations and covered soil health, quality seed, scientific land preparation, precision irrigation, balanced nutrition, preventive crop management, field monitoring and timely agronomic decision-making.

A key message was the need to move from reacting to crop problems after they occur to understanding field conditions, anticipating risks and taking preventive action at the right time.

The highly interactive session addressed practical challenges faced by farmers and discussed scientific interventions to improve yield, quality, consistency and profitability.

Importantly, the workshop is planned as the beginning of a season-long engagement. Potato Intel, in collaboration with Mantra Agri Solutions, intends to continue supporting participating farmers through field monitoring, scientific advisory and agronomy guidance during the crop cycle.

Mantra Agri Shares Contract Farming Plans

Towards the conclusion of the programme, Mr. Ushirbhai, Procurement Head, Mantra Agri Solutions, interacted with the farmers on the company’s contract farming plans.
Mantra Agri Solutions informed farmers that it would soon announce its contract farming programme for the upcoming season, along with the associated commercial terms and rates.

From Better Decisions to Better Market Linkages

The Gandhinagar workshop brought together the key elements that can influence a farmer’s outcome — scientific agronomy, timely field-level decision-making, digital access to the potato ecosystem and structured market linkages through contract farming.

With 450+ farmers participating, the strong engagement throughout the programme reflected a growing interest in moving towards a more knowledge-driven, technology-enabled and market-connected approach to potato farming.