Increase income from farming - Value addition, farm nest clubs...etc

Farm Questions
1

Dear Friends,

When we talk about farming, agriculture 1st thing is pessimistic thought a failture in future. If agriculture is a failture and non income business why our food index is not reduce and always end consumer pay such high cost for foods. That means agriculture producers are not getting eligible value for product. If you just refer dialy maket index published by Tamilandu Agri university it is an eye opener. Every KG from whole sale to retail costlier by min 15rs/kg and we need to back calculate how much difference in wholesaler to producer.

I surprised to understand these numbers

1kg Paddy sell at aprx Rs 17 kg, when it become rice it would Rs 35/kg, convert to rice powder Rs 55 , make to appam or dosa mix Rs. 70/Kg

Fresh cocount Rs 5/pc, cocount oil loose, Rs 55/kg and in retail Rs. 110 for local, where in Parachute company sell at Rs 225/kg

Local swadeshi soap at TFM 84% sells 75gm bar at Rs 15-17 where Pearce soap of TFM 75-80 sells at Rs 75

Milk Rs 30 sell at retail Rs 40-45

Cow dung 1 tin Rs. 20 and when it labeled to Organic manure cost more than 40

So farmer if he is on large scale better to convert to finish products with maximum value addition and if farmer is on small scale make things worked by together fellow like minded farmers. There are several farming societies formed for these purpose unfortunately most of them not worked for value addition and rather intrested in raw material sales only.

Also farmers also need to rework our consumption pattern. We need to I QUIT mantra for several MNC products and adopt our own produced valued added products, examples are several most of the provisions to the house hold can be locally procured or from own farm and convert fror self consumption. thus helping our own faming community. SWADESHI and SELF SUSTAINABILITY can work out miracles for our revenue generation in our farming aheads.

It would be better if we could get connect 'FARM NEST forum with experts, scientists, and agriculture universities who can help educated farming enthusiastic to get in to a successful farming activities.

best wishes for farming. let us summaries more ideas in better farming, pricing, marketing, value addition…etc

Location wise FARM NEST clubs may be formed as knowledge sharing as well as resource forms.

rgds
mathew

2

Hi rmathewsin,

This is an excellent write up. you are right Agri is going to be the next IT/BT.

Best to to stop listening to negative people (avoid them altogether) and do your own calculation and take decision.

Regards,
agri_lover

3

Mathew…Yes products that get closest to the consumer gets the highest price. Raw iron is cheap but a finished car is expensive that is the way it is. All things are valuable because people want to consume, meaning iron is only useful because we can turn it into a car which a consumer can use.

Retail prices are not to the prices a farmer will get, until he retails them himself and that has its own challenges. There are all sorts of costs & losses involved in converting paddy into a dosa mix. Add to it, the marketing effort & overheads of selling the appam/dosa mix.

Like all things Agriculture can be profitable if we can increase the yield and keep the costs down. Lets say in the same 1 acre you can produce 3000Kg paddy instead of the average 1500-1800kg your profitability doubles. As farmers we should focus on increasing productivity whilst keeping our costs as low as possible.

As far saying agri is the next IT/BT, this is an overrated statement and to be honest irrelevant. Yes global food inventories are low but not all farmers are rich and just the way not all IT/BT companies are spectacularly profitable.

I dont think we should get carried away, rather look at the opportunity and see how best we can maximize the benefits.

4

Dear Narsinga,

rightly said and noted. thanks. but specifically in agri chain producers get very less and intermediaries gets more. it is an opportunity cost I believe.

rgds
mathew

5

Hi Mathew…I do not agree all middle men always make money nor is it correct to say all farmers loose money all the time. Whilst the farmer has his own risk so does the middle men. Imagine if a middle man buys your produce and unable to sell it, who is taking the risk it is him.

The case of commission agents is completely different though.

6

Dear Narasinga,

I mean it the gap between producers realization and consumer pay out is huge even after we taken in a/c perishable loss, margins,. transportation…etc still the difference is high, so who ever comes in middle either commission agent or retailer or trader consume maximum margins when compare to farmer. Some specific crops or farmers who have facility/reach to better market realization is some thing different issue. In peack season farmer in Tenkasi get 50paise per 1 kg for Ladies finger where same thing just 150km far away in Kerala sell to consumer at Rs 9/kg. *(Kerala get maximum vegies from kerala).

rgds
mathew

7

Hi Mathew I agree. There is gap and where necessary farmer should work at understanding the market and plan accordingly

8

Dear Mathew,

Please go through the exactly what NDDB did in so many fields it is same what you are talking but still it is limited to few areas like edible oil, milk & milk products, vegetables, fruits and some extent to pulses. ( similarly in chitale,maharastra, a private sector is successfully, silently achieving huge success in dairy farming, milk and milk products sector ). Because of all these area wise efforts only, india is having still little control on all these commodities. But, it was not very high success except in certain states because of various our policy makers decisions.

For everything, transportation / fixing up the margins / gaps are not the solution.

We have to create the availability of sources at decentralised delegated local places, increase the production technically by educating related/concerned created clustered peoples, support and stand for them, procure at right prices, process the same , and market it at right time and price to the customers, by making producers also as part of the success.

Till this happens in every field of agriculture in a disciplined way, our next generation can’t be pulled to this filed and we have to keep pay off the prices how you have found. Understand scientifically in a larger vision and it is very much possible to find solutions for all these concerns.

thanks and regards,

kasturiraju.

9

thanks and well understood .