Our Story
The journey of Zarai Mandi - from a simple idea to Pakistan's leading agricultural price discovery platform transforming lives across the country.
Where It All Started
Zarai Mandi didn't start as a business idea. It started with frustration. For years, farmers across Pakistan had no reliable way to access daily mandi (market) rates. Back in 2017, our team at Pakistan Agriculture Research (PAR) launched Kissan Dost, a basic Android app that offered free daily prices and limited advisory services. The app reached over 20,000 users, mostly smallholder farmers. For us, this experience confirmed a simple truth: Our farmers were ready for digital tools, as long as those tools were built with their realities in mind.
The Purpose Behind Zarai Mandi
Our exploration within the market led us to another conclusion: the farmer was always the last to know and important decisions were being made with outdated data. That's why we built Zarai Mandi — to help close that gap. To make sure everyone in the agri-supply chain had equal access to the same market data, at the same time. When you're able to compare rates across cities, and time your sales, you stop guessing and start deciding on your own terms.
We believe it should be that simple for everyone.
When the Spark Was Lit
In a crop survey conducted during the winter of 2021, our founder, Ghasharib Shoukat, saw firsthand how farmers were losing money by relying on inaccurate market data. We began sharing our research-backed verified prices, and farmers, traders—even industry leaders—were struck by the accuracy. By opening up access, we began changing long-standing dynamics by making the system more transparent.
Because when people are better informed, they're less vulnerable and can control their own future themselves. And that's what matters most to us.
The Road to Understanding the Market
In early 2022, our team, alongside field representatives, Dur Muhammad Baloch, and Gul Ahmad conducted a 10-day journey across Sindh, visiting 15 grain markets where Zarai Mandi had active representatives. This research was later extended by our broader team across Punjab, where we visited over 30 additional grain markets — including Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Okara, Arifwala, Pakpattan, Burewala, and Sialkot.
These visits gave us first hand insight into how traders, commission agents, and farmers operate in daily physical markets — and how they access information remotely. The role of WhatsApp was integral to this network. It had become the primary tool for real-time market communication.
That became our blueprint.
The Beginning of Zarai Mandi
This experience sparked the beginning of Zarai Mandi — a digital agricultural operating system designed specifically for non-literate farmers. Incubated at National Incubation Center Faisalabad (NICF) and backed by the coursework of the Founder Institute (FI), Zarai Mandi was launched in October 2022.
Ghasharib's brother, Abdul Raafey Shoukat, joined as a Co-Founder in December 2022 and enrolled in the incubation journey that lasted a year.
Our first product was a WhatsApp chatbot— inspired by how common the platform already was among our users. It wasn't perfect. Some users found it too technical. But that feedback didn't discourage us — it guided us.
Evolved Through Learning
With these key insights, Zarai Mandi expanded from a basic chatbot API to a full-fledged community experience tailored to how people already interacted and shared data.
In 2023, we launched Zarai Mandi WhatsApp Communities — dedicated groups organized by crop and region.
These groups receive:
• daily price updates
• live mandi videos
• voice bulletins
All in simple formats and local languages. This ensures that everyone — no matter their literacy level or location — can access and use the information.
What Keeps Us Going
Since launch, we've served nearly 1,000 paying users across Pakistan. Our month-to-month return rate is over 50% and 500 of our users are life-time subscribers.
We have also built a vibrant community of thousands across social media platforms. By consistently sharing valuable mandi information through short, engaging videos, we've reached millions of views across platforms. Facebook - 21K total page likes, 7K people daily engagements. TikTok - 25K followers, 367.6K total likes on TikTok videos. YouTube - 255 subscribers, 370 informational videos. WhatsApp Channels - 1500 customers
We also document our agri-data journey on LinkedIn to share insights with the wider community. Through our ad campaigns, almost 3,000 to 4,000 farmers reach out to us for their needs every month. For us, their stories matter.
How We Work?
Each data point we share rests on years of on-ground research. Our 125+ field reps visit crop fields and ghalla mandis daily, log prices, volumes, and trends, then send the data to our team for verification. Once cleared, updates go straight to the relevant WhatsApp crop groups.
Every new farmer we onboard is assessed, so we understand their exact needs, and a built-in feedback channel lets users flag any inconsistencies, allowing us to correct figures in real time.
The Road Ahead
We currently provide market data for a wide range of crops — including cotton, wheat, maize, rice, sugarcane, pulses, edible oils, fruits, and vegetables — all shared directly through our WhatsApp communities.
With a mobile and web app in progress, we plan to eventually, a one-stop commodity marketplace. Our aim is nothing less than Pakistan's beating heart of agri-intelligence. One trusted window where growers, traders, and exporters can act together to feed futures, uplift livelihoods, and move the country closer to true food security.
Whether you're sitting in Chaman, Gilgit, Lahore, or Dubai — if you deal in Pakistani commodities, we want Zarai Mandi to be your go-to source for agri-data needs.
Meet Our Founders
The visionaries behind Zarai Mandi's mission to transform Pakistan's agricultural market landscape.
Ghasharib Shoukat
Founder - CEO
Abdul Raafey Shoukat
Co-Founder - COO
About Zarai Mandi
Zarai Mandi puts the mandi in your pocket. As Pakistan’s first on-demand price-discovery service, we post verified, real-time rates and arrival volumes for every major crop inside dedicated WhatsApp communities. Join the group that matches your harvest and start each morning with the numbers you need—no middlemen, no guesswork, just clear data to trade with confidence.
Our Mission
To empower five million Pakistani farm households with real-time, trustworthy mandi intelligence, prices, trends, and local voices so every grower, trader, and agent can negotiate fairly, earn more, fortify livelihoods, and advance national food security and climate resilience.
Our Vision
Today, we streamline daily mandi price discovery for WhatsApp users. Tomorrow, we aim to become the go-to marketplace connecting buyers, sellers, logistics providers, and service partners—transforming Pakistan's agricultural value chain into a more transparent, efficient, and profitable ecosystem for all.