Team | TAPCO

Board of Directors

Operational Team

Johnson OV, Chairman

Johnson Mash as he is popularly known, is a well-travelled teacher turned farmer. His abiding love for farming and an ever learning mind, makes him one of the most acclaimed farmer in the region. For his integrated and innovative farming practices, and traditional paddy variety conservation, he was bestowed with the Best Organic Farmer award for
the year 2020 by the Kerala govt.

Johnson Mash is also very popular through paddy seasons for his paddy art, which is a not-to-be-missed visual delight.

He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of TAPCo, since inception.

Usha S, Board Member

Usha is a horticulturist by training and has been working in the field of ecology and agriculture for the last 3 decades. She is one of the founding members of Thanal (an environmental organization based in Kerala that works on issues of public interest, especially related to environment, agriculture, and livelihood generation through research, advocacy, action, and education).

At Thanal, she is currently the Director of Agroecology and Food Security. She has been coordinating the national Save Our Rice (SOR) campaign since its inception in 2004. She believes that Agroecology/Natural Farming can help humanity lead a sustainable life and ensure a secure world for the younger generation.

She is a member, Board of Directors, TAPCo.

Rajesh Krishnan, CEO

An ecologist by qualification (Masters from the Salim Ali School of Ecology, Pondicherry University) and a firm believer in the collective pursuit of sustainable farming and rural livelihoods, Rajesh Krishnan’s journey into the hinterland of Kerala, in his own words, “is the dream of many, that he gets to live”.

His desire to build bridges between agricultural-environmental practices and policies, finds him prioritising the farm and the various working/policy groups at the gram panchayath and national level, equally. For his inspiring contribution in the field of farming, he was awarded the State Youth Icon award in 2017 by the Kerala state government.

Before moving to Wayanad in 2015, he worked with Greenpeace India for 10 years in various capacities in the Sustainable Agriculture Campaign.

He is the CEO of TAPCo, since inception.

Sridhar R, Board Member

A trained engineer, Sridhar’s core interest in Environmental Health and Justice has seen him dedicate all of his time and energy in areas pertaining to Sustainable Agriculture & Food Sovereignty, Environmental Policy & Advocacy, and Ecosystems & Land Use Policy.

A Director at Thanal, he is the Coordinator (Policy & Campaign) of the Save our Rice (SOR) campaign.

He has authored two books related to environment and resource use. He has also co-authored ‘A Green Print for Sustainable Kerala – Lessons for Existence’ publication.

A mentor of the organization since inception, and currently a Director at TAPCo.

Aswathy Rajan, Field Officer

Aswathy is an Agriculture graduate from Ambedkar University, Agra. Her desire to work with farmers of her region brought her to TAPCo.

As a field officer, she is the first stop go-to person for the farmers of the collective. She is in charge of the farm extension wing of TAPCo, which involves:

Facilitating monthly meetings of the various regional farmer groups, which are occasions for sharing lived experiences and addressing any outstanding issues
Coordinating field trainings for farmers on scientific techniques in organic farming practices
Surveying farmer's fields at various stages of the life cycle
Assisting farmers with the organic certification process

Ranjith Krishnan, Board Member

Ranjith is one of our founder Directors. He has a Masters in Business Administration and 20 years of experience in the Corporate world, across sectors.

He currently works as a Regional Manager for a leading footwear brand. His vast experience in sales and marketing as well as his travels far and wide across the country adds great value to the marketing strategies of the company.

Arun M Nair, Board Member

Arun has spent the last 14 years in the pharmaceutical industry. He currently works for a leading global pharmaceutical’s Indian Affiliate in an administrative capacity.

Arun is one of the founder directors of TAPCo.
A strong believer in the role of social micro-enterprises as being environmentally and economically viable model, he brings his sense
of business operations to the table.

Vinod Krishna Poyyale, Board Member

One of our founder directors, what drives Vinod is a strong desire to contribute towards preserving nature and developing a sustainable livelihood paradigm for the farmers of the country.

He currently works as Value Director for a leading global pharmaceutical company's Indian affiliate. Having started his career with IT solution sales, he has subsequently held leadership roles in Sales, Marketing & Market Access strategy in Medical Devices & Pharmaceutical industries over the last 19 years.

He is a graduate in business administration and a gold medallist in post graduate course in Sales & Marketing from XLRI Jamshedpur.

In his spare time, he likes blogging on leadership, people development, and other business related topics.