Bijoy started his career with Maxworth Orchards managing their farm operations before moving to JK Paper. He has around 28 years of experience in various domains in the forestry & allied sectors ranging from developing orchards, wood procurement, bamboo forest operations, R&D for productivity improvement and working with farmers & rural populations for creating sustainable livelihoods through plantations.
He has experience in Sustainability, CSR, Carbon finance, Supply Chain & Logistics, and has played a pivotal role in sustainable development of fibre resources for the wood based industry, ensuring long-term benefits for wood-based industries while fostering environmental stewardship and community well-being.
LInkdIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/bijoy-prasad-ratho-340bb54
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A. When I joined IIFM, I had little understanding of what the course entailed, much like most of my batchmates. However, my love for nature had brought me there, and I was clear about where I wanted to be – close to nature. This passion guided my professional choices and shaped my journey.
From joining Maxworth Orchards from campus to moving on to JK Paper, my initial years were a period of immense learning. I began at the Regional Office in Pune in June 1996, after spending some time learning the ropes there, an exciting opportunity presented itself, and I moved to a site located around 150 kilometers from Mumbai as the Farm Manager. There, I embraced the challenge of establishing a farm from scratch. This included land acquisition and the development of a 250-acre orchard. This role offered me invaluable hands-on learning experiences, helping me develop technical expertise while working closely with rural communities. It also allowed me to hone my managerial skills, which would prove critical in my career ahead.
After two years, circumstances led me to join JK Paper in Rayagada, Odisha, to be closer to home due to my father’s ill health. Since then, I have been at the center of transformative change, spearheading the transition from near-complete dependence on government forest resources to 100% farm-grown wood. I have had the privilege of being part of, and ultimately leading, the team responsible for raw material procurement. This included managing resources from state-owned forests and driving the Unit’s vision of achieving self-sufficiency in raw material. Along the way, I introduced and implemented several technological innovations, which have been pivotal to this journey.
Reflecting, I see a journey of growth, learning, and impact—all anchored by my enduring love for nature and the opportunities it created to work with communities and make a difference
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A.
- Being the youngest in the team is both an advantage as well as disadvantage, it helps you to learn but leading them requires credibility building.
- Over the years, I have realized there is no end to learning as change is constant and one is exposed to new challenges. Am currently pursuing a Masters in Climate Finance & Sustainability from IIT-Kanpur.
- The importance of making a positive impact on the environment & society around you despite being in the corporate sector. Leveraging your influence on community leaders, farmers, NGOs & Govt agencies.
- Success is not only about talent, but consistent and sincere efforts.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. The most satisfying part of my role is that I have been given the opportunity to transform the vision for raw material sustainability, to life. This has created a huge impact for JK Paper & partner farmers associated in this journey in a very backward region of the country. Winning the faith and trust of the locals/farmers and seeing their satisfaction and smiles is extremely satisfying.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. IIFM cultivated in me a passion for the forestry sector and deepened my understanding of environment it taught me how to apply my learnings for betterment of the sector. While at IIFM I had little understanding of how they would help me in the real world.
I firmly believe that a large part of what I could achieve in my professional life is due to the guidance, support of my teachers and learnings at IIFM, especially about leadership, problem-solving and team building.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?
A. I have been fortunate to have worked with many good leaders who gave a me freedom to experiment learn from failures which built my confidence and skills.
Sarita (my wife) & Mrinal (daughter) have been sources of constant support throughout this journey, result of which I could grow professionally. I have worked mainly in the Paper Industry in raw material development & procurement, over time this has transformed from complete dependence on Govt forests to 100% farm grown wood. This could happen mainly due to the young diverse talent joining the sector when it was dominated by hardcore foresters.
The sector though has lately woken up to the use of technology for improving productivity of ever shrinking land, for farmer engagement, mapping & monitoring of standing fibre resources (which can be quite challenging due to small size & scattered farms) for optimizing inbound logistics, growing environmental consciousness and awareness for responsible & sustainable sourcing and ensuring traceability of sourced fibre particularly with new regulations such as EUDR, a huge market for plantation based carbon offsets to name a few of the opportunities. I believe IIFMites are uniquely positioned for success in the sector because of their diverse skills.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. There was never a dull moment at IIFM & each day was an experience. Noisy GBMs to thrash out issues that affected the batch starting from running the mess to placements, walking down the hill to Nehru Nagar in the evenings for gastronomic pleasures, midnight parties to celebrate birthdays all amidst the beautiful campus. Field visits where one got the real feel of the forest, the internships (OTs) and informal experience sharing remain most memorable. The best was the life-long bonds that got created amongst batchmates.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. It was actually a mix of everything, Faculty – some of whom were truly outstanding and inspiring besides being very approachable & friendly, who not only taught us course topics but also how to handle life in general, batchmates from very diverse backgrounds and cultures, alumni who were ever willing to guide whether on or off campus instilling a sense of belongingness, have all been great influences and ensured a long lasting bond with IIFM. I was always in awe of the library with access to books and journals on a vast variety of subjects, even the computer facility was very updated with the very latest software and GIS technology. The internships & field work which were the time spent outside of campus taught the skills required to handle the real world.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
A. IIFM provided a platform for creating lifelong friendships not only with your own batchmates but seniors and alumni. Amongst seniors, I interacted with people Sabby (Sarabjeet), Saroj (Nanda), DK (Dharmendra), Anand (Kanaujia), Harish, Jayesh, Manish and many more. Have had the opportunity to meet many juniors during their internships at JK paper and professionally. Faculty like Prof Biswas, Prof Pethiya & Suprava Maam left a lasting impact through their dedication and teaching.
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. I believe each individual is different and there cannot be a general prescription that fits all. However, be clear & objective about the course, acquire skills that support analysis and decision making/ problem solving.
Be serious about your internships and treat them as opportunities to learn & apply skills acquired, it also determines how successful you are in the long run. Networking is critical, use it to leverage the strong alumni network for learning, seeking guidance & exploring opportunities.
Q. What is your typical day at the office?
A. Significant part is spent travelling. However, when in office it is mostly spent on reviews, follow up, interacting with my team, farmers, vendors or Govt officials. I have an open-door policy in the office and team members drop by for a discussion or conversation fostering an environment of collaboration teamwork.
Q. How about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add ?
A. My hobbies include travelling, going for long drives (the area near the factory is very scenic), reading and spending quality time with my family (when they are around) or partying with colleagues when the opportunity arises.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors
A. I am not much of a movie buff but Three Idiots & Sholay are my favourites. Some of the books/authors that made an impression on me are Autobiography of a Yogi (Paramahansa Yogananda), The Monk who sold his Ferrari (Robin Sharma), Life of Pi (Yann Martel), Atomic Habits (James Clear) and Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist).
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?
A. While I have not been active on the alumni forum, I would be happy to help students & alumni looking for advise, guidance or information by sharing my knowledge and experience related to my domain. I have been instrumental in recruitment through campus & internships and ensured they are comfortable & give their best and continue the same.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?
A. We were a small group of twenty three confused individuals, looking for guidance as to who we are & the objective of the institute – forestry or management. Now the intake of students has increased manifold and current students have more clarity where this course would take them because of specialized streams offered & a strong alumni connect. There are a plethora of opportunities for all who would like to make a career through the institute. However, the central theme of forestry has got diluted.
We are highly connected due to social media & thousands of IIFMites spread across the world have successfully created a strong “IIFM” brand which current students can leverage.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. Many of us from PFM-96 have been already featured here and most people (without naming anybody in particular) from the batch would have a lot of interesting and amazing stories to share from their journey offering valuable insights.
