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Grading and establishing market linkage enables to sell farm produce at high price
In this largely populated country everything is sold but the price variation is subject to presentation! “I do my best in the field to produce best quality products then why I don’t get the deserved price? I asked myself this question and tried to understand the reason of low profitability of farming! On keen observation I found after harvesting of agricultural produce the farm commodities are sold to local trader who re-sells it further. Also I realized graded products are sold at high prices. I got my answers and then implemented the changes with washing produced farm products to remove the dirt, grading it all at the farm itself and packing it neatly. It took care of presentation. Next I made contacts with the bulk buyers in Jaipur and New Delhi mandi. These two major changes helped me earn really well and I was motivated to continue farming and expand it to higher level,” says Mr. Sohan Singh Chouhan, progressive farmer from Joyla village, Sirohi district, Rajasthan.
Papaya, mustard and wheat are the main crop grown at his Ashapura Bagwani Farm. Vegetables and cotton are grown on crop rotation. He uses chemical free farming inputs in his farm that are produced in-house. "Vermicompost, farm yard manure, bio-fertilizers and soil test based macro and micro nutrients are applied for balanced fertilization. Use of these farming inputs enhances the farm production,” he adds. The total area of farm is 4 hectare.
Red Lady 786 Taiwan papaya is cultivated in one hectare, mustard in 2 hectare and wheat in 1 hectare.
Mustard is a four month crop. variety sown is Pusha Jai Kisan. “I buy only certified seeds from NSC (National Seed Corporation, India) from the local vendors. 15 kg seed is required for my 2 hectare farm. It is bought at Rs. 110/kg,” he says. It is harvested in month of February.
Mustard is sold based on its oil content. “Pricing is dependent on the oil percentage in mustard seeds. We know this criteria for auction in mandi therefore after harvesting we grade the produce at the farm itself. The first grade mustard goes for auction to mandi and consequently I get the best price. While remaining mustard is processed by us to produce oil for family and friends. We use cold pressed virgin mustard oil in our cooking,” he shares.
Wheat variety grown in the farm is 1482. “Wheat is staple cereal for us. Besides as it is produced organically the entire produce is sold within the village. Even I always encourage it because my people have the first right on our produce. If fellow villagers are healthy then only our region shall progress!” highlights Mr. Chouhan.
Papaya saplings are sourced from Gujarat at Rs. 45/sapling. It is grown in field at the distance of 2m *2m that accommodates 2400 saplings. “This year crop I have given on contract farming. It implies till March 31st, 2017 the fruits shall be taken away by the company where as from 1st April 2017 I will sell the fruits independently. The price was fixed after analyzing the market rates for past two years. The formal agreement was signed with 50% advance payment. The balance money is received on last papaya dispatch. Later from April onwards I shall clean, grade and pack the fruits before selling,” he asserts. The shelf life of papaya fruits is 10-12 days.
When asked for selecting papaya over other fruits, Mr. Chouhan says, “It is suitable for our climatic conditions. Further, lemon and papaya are the safest fruits from birds attack. Fruit like pomegranate and sapota are largely spoilt by the parrots and it is difficult to control it.” He has kept the orchard exclusively for papaya cultivation because intercropping makes the farm more susceptible to pest attack or diseases spread out. “Then entire plantation gets ruined and it becomes 100% loss. These days the plants are very sensitive and easily catch the diseases.”
In time to come, he plans to develop a lemon plantation. “I shall be developing the hybrid lemon variety plantation by July 2017. The saplings will be booked by March 2017 to ensure I get it delivered in July. When the lemon saplings are transplanted in July, the moisture content in atmosphere is high hence the mortality is less than 5%. Later if all goes well I want to set up value-addition plant to make ‘Nimbu-Pani (lemon water)’ and sell it across Rajasthan under my own brand name,” he shares.
Mr. Chouhan is always enthusiastic of doing new things in farming. He is extremely focused on producing best quality food items but at the same time gives lots of attention as how to present his products before the buyers to close the best possible business deal. “My products are always sold first in every auction because the first look itself grabs the attention of the buyer that he cannot overlook!!” he concludes.
Contact details-
Ashapura Bagwani Farm
V-PO Joyla, Tehsil Sheoganj, District- Sirohi (Rajasthan)
Phone: 08890466405, 09413874920
Email: kvksirohi@yahoo.com
In this largely populated country everything is sold but the price variation is subject to presentation! “I do my best in the field to produce best quality products then why I don’t get the deserved price? I asked myself this question and tried to understand the reason of low profitability of farming! On keen observation I found after harvesting of agricultural produce the farm commodities are sold to local trader who re-sells it further. Also I realized graded products are sold at high prices. I got my answers and then implemented the changes with washing produced farm products to remove the dirt, grading it all at the farm itself and packing it neatly. It took care of presentation. Next I made contacts with the bulk buyers in Jaipur and New Delhi mandi. These two major changes helped me earn really well and I was motivated to continue farming and expand it to higher level,” says Mr. Sohan Singh Chouhan, progressive farmer from Joyla village, Sirohi district, Rajasthan.
Papaya, mustard and wheat are the main crop grown at his Ashapura Bagwani Farm. Vegetables and cotton are grown on crop rotation. He uses chemical free farming inputs in his farm that are produced in-house. "Vermicompost, farm yard manure, bio-fertilizers and soil test based macro and micro nutrients are applied for balanced fertilization. Use of these farming inputs enhances the farm production,” he adds. The total area of farm is 4 hectare.
Red Lady 786 Taiwan papaya is cultivated in one hectare, mustard in 2 hectare and wheat in 1 hectare.
Mustard is a four month crop. variety sown is Pusha Jai Kisan. “I buy only certified seeds from NSC (National Seed Corporation, India) from the local vendors. 15 kg seed is required for my 2 hectare farm. It is bought at Rs. 110/kg,” he says. It is harvested in month of February.
Mustard is sold based on its oil content. “Pricing is dependent on the oil percentage in mustard seeds. We know this criteria for auction in mandi therefore after harvesting we grade the produce at the farm itself. The first grade mustard goes for auction to mandi and consequently I get the best price. While remaining mustard is processed by us to produce oil for family and friends. We use cold pressed virgin mustard oil in our cooking,” he shares.
Wheat variety grown in the farm is 1482. “Wheat is staple cereal for us. Besides as it is produced organically the entire produce is sold within the village. Even I always encourage it because my people have the first right on our produce. If fellow villagers are healthy then only our region shall progress!” highlights Mr. Chouhan.
Papaya saplings are sourced from Gujarat at Rs. 45/sapling. It is grown in field at the distance of 2m *2m that accommodates 2400 saplings. “This year crop I have given on contract farming. It implies till March 31st, 2017 the fruits shall be taken away by the company where as from 1st April 2017 I will sell the fruits independently. The price was fixed after analyzing the market rates for past two years. The formal agreement was signed with 50% advance payment. The balance money is received on last papaya dispatch. Later from April onwards I shall clean, grade and pack the fruits before selling,” he asserts. The shelf life of papaya fruits is 10-12 days.
When asked for selecting papaya over other fruits, Mr. Chouhan says, “It is suitable for our climatic conditions. Further, lemon and papaya are the safest fruits from birds attack. Fruit like pomegranate and sapota are largely spoilt by the parrots and it is difficult to control it.” He has kept the orchard exclusively for papaya cultivation because intercropping makes the farm more susceptible to pest attack or diseases spread out. “Then entire plantation gets ruined and it becomes 100% loss. These days the plants are very sensitive and easily catch the diseases.”
In time to come, he plans to develop a lemon plantation. “I shall be developing the hybrid lemon variety plantation by July 2017. The saplings will be booked by March 2017 to ensure I get it delivered in July. When the lemon saplings are transplanted in July, the moisture content in atmosphere is high hence the mortality is less than 5%. Later if all goes well I want to set up value-addition plant to make ‘Nimbu-Pani (lemon water)’ and sell it across Rajasthan under my own brand name,” he shares.
Mr. Chouhan is always enthusiastic of doing new things in farming. He is extremely focused on producing best quality food items but at the same time gives lots of attention as how to present his products before the buyers to close the best possible business deal. “My products are always sold first in every auction because the first look itself grabs the attention of the buyer that he cannot overlook!!” he concludes.
Contact details-
Ashapura Bagwani Farm
V-PO Joyla, Tehsil Sheoganj, District- Sirohi (Rajasthan)
Phone: 08890466405, 09413874920
Email: kvksirohi@yahoo.com