Driven by contract farming initiatives from Chennai-based Gourmet Popcornica, India’s reliance on imported popcorn maize has plummeted from 70% a decade ago to just 15% today. Since 2015, domestic popcorn maize production has surged over two-and-a-half times, growing from 15,000 tonnes to 85,000 tonnes, while the total market size expanded to 1.3 lakh tonnes. Over 17,500 contract farmers across nine states are growing the crop under a guaranteed 100% buyback model. The company provides critical inputs on credit to eliminate loan hurdles and plans to introduce automated corn cob harvesters to mechanize 10% of the harvest in 2026.