On the job!

The first thing that comes to anybody’s mind today when one listens to the term agriculture is a picture of a poor farmer and by far it is understood in a completely wrong sense. Trying to understand this space, personally, I don’t think there is any other profession that will directly impact the lives of people as much as the metrics of agriculture does. As a matter of fact, I have realized that there are a lot of short comings in the way farming decisions are taken as well as the way output from a farm is valued and consumed. The ecosystem of performing agriculture is right now in a complete mess. The big farmers do manage to survive, but the concern is about small and marginal farmers and farmers in remote locations. They are on the verge of an extinct as their younger generations have started to migrate into towns and cities as labourers. The silver lining is that there is a way to reverse the situation and it is no rocket science.  

It is inevitable that the farmers are all going small. The land holdings are fragmented as they pass on through to generations. This significantly reduces the value output from the fragmented land. And to add to this are the various cost elements in the supply chain before the actual value of the produce is appreciated by the consumer. If the farmer whose entire family’s livelihood and children’s education is dependent on the income from this land, then we know for sure he/ she has pressed the panic button. 

The above observation was a result of a case study conducted in a village called Komaranapura, 150 Kms away from the city of Bangalore. Some of the excerpts are here for the record.  

Farmer Land Holding – 3 acres
Produce/ Vegetable – Brinjal (R)

Farmer selling price – INR 8 per Kg
Komaranapura, Yelandur

Consumer buying price - INR 30 to 35 per Kg
Bangalore

The situation is clear as to who is consuming all the intermediate overheads in the entire supply chain. Of course, the consumer is paying for it, but the farmer is not able to realize the value. However, the value of the produce starts decreasing the moment it is harvested, and evidently we are increasing its worth at every stage. This may not necessarily mean that 1 Kg of Brinjal should be sold at around INR 10 or INR 12/- This doesn’t make sense as it has to be transported and marketed. So the intermediate cost factor is justified but not the cost elements, which leads to a pretty straightforward inference. Procuring it directly from these farmers and shipping it to kitchens directly will lead to better value for the farmers. 

The advantage in doing this is that the produce has very little transit and storage time before it reaches the kitchen. Everyone should eat fresh. Freshness of consumption just cannot be a unique selling proposition of a vendor. And our job on this front is to ensure people eat fresh. Concerned about the way we consume vegetables and being not too happy about the current ecosystem we were motivated to set it right. Inspired much by the cause of Madhukrishi and my visit to Naujheel, the existence of Tenesiri to support the small/ marginal farmers and farmers in remote location do better business became certain. 

Stacking up orders from consumers, forecasting the demand, aggregating small farmers to build inventory for it, and working out logistics to create a seamless supply chain of produce from the farm reaching the kitchen, Tenesiri has started its operations in this direction. We are on our way to change the way we consume and make farming more rewarding. Now, it is a matter of focused execution and perseverance that will lead us there. As I said, it is no rocket science.