- Promoting natural and organic farming
- He has been awarded the “Rice Icon of India Award” and the “Innovation and Progressive Farmer Award”.
Mr. Mohan Chandrakar, a resident of Keshava village in Mahasamund district, has today distinguished himself as a progressive and innovative farmer. After completing his MBA and working for a multinational company from 1997 to 2013, Mr. Chandrakar returned to farming in 2013 and resolved to develop agriculture as a business.
He practices organic and natural farming methods, promoting traditional, aromatic, and medicinal crops. His farm produces crops such as Javful, Vishnubhog, Joha, Chakhav, Sanjwani, Pihu Purple Rice, and black wheat. He processes his produce in his own rice mill and markets it under the brand name “Tathastu – Good People, Good Food.”
In 2017, he formed Tathastu Farmer Producer Company Limited (Urja Krishi FPO), uniting approximately 300 farmers. He is guiding farmers on modern technology, crop diversification, processing, branding, and market linkages, which has increased the income of many farmers. In Kharif 2026, he is working on the revival of traditional aromatic rice varieties under the guidance of experts from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mahasamund, and the Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur.
Mr. Chandrakar explains that he planted 400 Australian teak trees on approximately 6 acres of his barren land, which have now grown to 20 to 30 feet tall. Since 2024, he has been conserving and planting 200 white sandalwood trees, along with mango, mahua, jamun, sapota, guava, and other fruit and useful trees.
He considers tree plantation as a fixed deposit for future generations.
His innovations in agriculture have also received national recognition. In 2018, he had the opportunity to interact with the best innovative farmers at the ICAR, New Delhi. He was awarded the “Rice Icon of India Award” in April 2026 and the “Innovation and Progressive Farmer Award” by Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai on 4 June 2026 in Raipur.