This is the story of a remarkable revolution, initiated and successfully implemented by Rallis, one of the largest agrochemical companies in India and the fifth largest company in the Tata Group.

Rallis India Ltd. manufactures and sells agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. The agrochemicals division is its largest and most profitable, engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of pesticides. Rallis has invested heavily in research and development activities; by regularly developing new products, it has been giving Indian farmers top-of-the-line eco-friendly agricultural products. This has enabled them to grow better crops year after year.

Rallis also has a very large distribution network with a sales force of approximately 2,00,000, who reach out to every farmer in the remotest Indian village.

In 1999, Rallis launched "Silent Revolution" – a remarkable marketing strategy which has, in the short span of one year, reaped huge benefits for the company and, more importantly, for its customers – the farmers.

What made Contaf an outstanding product? Farmers using it noticed that their yield was higher and the grains were of better quality. This made the product very popular among farmers.

However, the usage of Contaf was restricted to the paddy crop (kharif) which meant it had a short product cycle from July to September. With increasing competition in the pesticides market, the company was keen to introduce products which could be used throughout the year, for different crops. Another related concern was how to create brand awareness in the minds of the farmer.

Rallis wanted to be associated with the farmers’ lives from sowing to harvest. Market research suggested that the most effective way to achieve this goal was to work at the grassroot  level and be there with the farmer through all his activities. In short, set up a one-to-one contact with the farmer and focus on selling a ‘basket’ of Rallis products.

Thus was born the ‘Silent Revolution’. Its underlying philosophy was very simple -- to create a bond and develop a relationship with every farmer. To be his partner in business and to be a part of his family The aim was to establish Rallis as ''brand of first recall'' in the minds of the farmers.

The revolution begins to roll...
The name ''Silent Revolution'' was given to the project because strategy involved talking directly to the end consumer - the farmer, without making a noise. The Tata name, which stands for trust and leadership, helped in spreading the message that Rallis is the farmers’ partner in the creation of wealth.

Since the essence of the strategy was personal interaction, the company started by reducing the dependence on jeeps and increasing the number of people. These people, most of whom were chosen from nearby villages, were trained for the job and designated Trained Farmers Promotional Assistants (TFPAs). A usage strategy was defined to ensure that for paddy, at every stage of the crop and for every problem, there was a Rallis product as a solution.

''The task was made difficult by the fact that in south India, each area or district has different crops and the farmers also have a different mind-set,'' says B.Sivaprasad, general manager-south, of Rallis. ''Therefore the need to ‘think global act local’. The initiatives for each area had to be specific to that area according to the local mindset of the farmers. The Rallis ‘basket of products’ changed according to the area’s need, based on crop, farmers usage pattern etc. This included Marshall, Contaf, Fujione, Koranada, Furudan and Asataf – each fighting and preventing different crop diseases and giving the farmer a rich and healthy crop, increasing his yield per acre and adding to his wealth.'' It was also important to  liaise with organisations and government departments to give the farmers complete and updated information which would help them in growing their crops.

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