THEME OF INNOVATION
Cost Effective Crop-livestock Integrated Farming
Focus AREA
Community Initiatives
DETAILS OF INNOVATOR
| Name |
Mr. Natthu Bhai Kalu Bhai Jadhav
|
| Experience |
4 years
|
| Region of operation |
Omer village, Talaja and Mahava region
|
| Turnover |
Rs. 5,40,000
|
| Volume |
14,600 litres
|
| No. of employees |
5 |
| Contact details |
At Post Degvada, Taluka Mahuva, District Bhavnagar
|
| Phone |
09427559234
|
| Email |
NA |
BUSINESS MODEL
Mr. Natthu Bhai sells 40 litres milk/day at the rate of Rs. 37/litre to Bhavnagar District Milk Producing Union Limited which earns him an annual profit of Rs. 4 lakh. He is also a part of the milk cooperative and this cooperative purchases milk at fat percent basis. He is ready to provide free consultation to others for starting up the same business.
INNOVATION DETAILS
The initiatives taken by Mr. Natthu Bhai like converting an old barren land into a productive one and developing cattle farming along with it brought a significant positive change in his and his associates’ livelihoods.
Earlier there was no water percolation in the soil which prompted Mr. Natthu Bhai to develop ponds for farming activities and hence, he started cattle farming with it too.
He formed a group of 12 people in the village to run this business as a cooperative model.
The farm yard manure is being used in farming and the produce from the farm is being used as a feed to the cattle which has reduced the overall cost significantly. Recently, he has been separated and is doing this business independently with 5 buffalos. Presently, he is planning to scale up this business after identifying the demand in the market.
IMPACT OF INNOVATION/TECHNOLOGY
As a result of this innovation, an increase of 2 litres of daily milk production is being observed.
The soil quality is also improved by using the farm yard manure generated by the livestock. Besides this, a total 50% reduction in labour requirement and 30% to 50% time saving is also being noticed. Moreover, the business is not very complex and hence, very easy to maintain.
Overall, the creation of milk cooperative has tremendously helped the dairy farmers to fetch a good price for their production as well as encouraged many more to take up dairy farming.
RECOGNITION/AWARDS
None
ISSUES
Although there are no problems faced by the farmer regarding the marketing aspect, but approximately Rs. 10 lakh are required for purchasing more livestock and building new sheds in order to scale up the business.
Presently he is planning to purchase 20 more buffalos for milk production.
THEME OF INNOVATION
Krishi Vigyaan Vahan
Focus AREA
Community & Industry Initiatives
DETAILS OF INNOVATOR
| Name |
Aries Agro Limited
|
| Experience |
42 years
|
| Region of operation |
Maharashtra
|
| Turnover |
Rs. 175 crore
|
| Volume |
Not disclosed
|
| No. of employees |
500–1000
|
| Contact details |
Aries House, Plot no 24, Deonar, Govandi (E), Mumbai - 400043 |
| Phone |
022 25564052
|
| Email |
NA
|
BUSINESS MODEL
Aries Agro has pioneered several unique concept development initiatives for spreading knowledge of world class plant nutrition concepts to over 8 million farmers across 26 states in India. This includes over 500 trained marketing staff and a fleet of 100 Krishi Vigyan Vahans (KVV s) fully equipped with Audio visual equipment, mobile soil testing equipment, an agronomist and demonstration material which visits 6 villages every day along pre-determined routes to spread awareness of the innovative concepts that form the basis of Aries brands.
INNOVATION DETAILS
Aries Krishi Vigyan Vahans (KVV s) - A fleet of 100 vehicles, fully equipped with Audio visual equipment, mobile soil testing equipment, an agronomist and demonstration material visits 6 villages every day along predetermined routes to spread awareness of the innovative concepts that form the basis of Aries brands.
In addition to spreading knowledge and creating demand, the staff on the vehicle book orders and provide farmers with free accident and medical insurance facilities. These vehicles represent a marketing practice that is changing the method of information delivery in rural communities. Moreover, the dealers’ and distributors’ stocks are sold faster due to the orders booked on the KVVs - thus keeping them actively involved as beneficiaries of this innovation.
IMPACT OF INNOVATION/TECHNOLOGY
KVVs focus is to build awareness in remote, un-serviced markets. They conduct farmer meetings and audiovisual shows on product applications. They also provide doorstep farmer advisory services, soil testing and query resolution. Incentives are given to farmers by providing special schemes on booking through the KVVs. They also keep track of impact of extension work i.e. farmers contacted v/s booked orders v/s actual sales.
RECOGNITION/AWARDS
Awards
These vehicles were applauded by The . Wall Street Journal as one of the most innovative rural marketing techniques in use in India today.
ISSUES
For selling products in India, one requires a sales tax number which is not entitled to moving vehicles. Thus these vans cannot be used for selling the products – only for booking orders
THEME OF INNOVATION
Agro Service Centres
Focus AREA
Community Initiatives
DETAILS OF INNOVATOR
| Name |
Shashank Kumar, Manish Kumar
|
| Experience |
3 years
|
| Region of operation |
Bihar |
| Turnover |
Not disclosed
|
| Volume |
Not disclosed
|
| No. of employees |
Not disclosed
|
| Contact details |
Kharauna Gate, (Bouddha Vishwa Shanti Stoop), Vaishali, Bihar
|
| Phone |
09304511409
|
| Email |
NA
|
BUSINESS MODEL
FnF remains with farmers throughout the season, right from the crop selection to marketing for a nominal fee. FnF maintains profile of every member farmer, which covers land details, cropping pattern of last 3 years, irrigation plans, help available on the farm and other details. Farms n Farmers (FnF) have a large and diversified farmer’s base across the state. FnF farmers’ network is well capable of meeting the demand of all kind of suitable cereals,pulse, vegetables, spices and fruits.
INNOVATION DETAILS
Farms and Farmers (FnF) provides 3600 services to farmers – right from crop selection to marketing. FnF forms a cluster of farmers of neighbouring villages and plans the crops for the next 1 year based on soil condition and farmer’s profile.
Other operations, including centralized procurement of quality seeds of the selected crop at the negotiated price, farmers’ training, season scheduling, troubleshooting, harvesting and post harvest value addition etc. is done at the village level.
At the end of these processes the produce is collected from the nearest centre.
Nearest FnF centre provides other useful information like daily price of relevant agricultural commodities, videos of new technology, success stories of farmers in other parts of the country etc.
Today FnF team is working with more than five hundred farmers in six districts of Bihar. FnF is helping its member farmers on a total of 350 acres across the state with crops like basmati rice, rajma, baby corn, mushroom, litchi, papaya, gram, medicinal herbs, spices and seasonal vegetables.
IMPACT OF INNOVATION/TECHNOLOGY
FnF’s working model is such that even a small farmer gets benefitted like a large farmer: being a part of a bigger cluster helps them secure their raw material at lower costs while giving them higher return for their produce - and at the same time, eliminates the need to go to multiple middle-men at various stages. This leads to increment in revenue per unit area by 40%–50% for a small farmer and also reduces the frequency of returns from 150–160 days to 80–90 days.
RECOGNITION/AWARDS
None
ISSUES
One of the most difficult steps in this direction is to build faith and trust with the local farmers. As the farmer have a history of being cheated by multiple middlemen in the past, it is very difficult to make them see that by associating with FnF, they have nothing to lose but only gain.