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Fetches high profits by selling farm produce directly to the end user in Pune city
Less money and long credit period are routine problems faced by the farmers when they sell their farm produce to middlemen. Nothing new about this but farmers thinking and implementing strategies like an entrepreneur is novel! “Pune is a big city where sky rising apartments are rising every year in big numbers. One apartment/society is just one stop where we get more than hundred customers at the same time. By direct selling our farm produce it is win-win situation for the buyers as well as for us! They save on their money and time and we gain high profits and better network of prospective buyers,” shares Mr. Chandrakanth Rangnath Jadhav. He established Jadhav Farms in 2007 along with his wife, Mrs. Seema Jadhav. They produce 10 different varieties of exotic vegetables using natural farming practices. The farm is located at Chimbli village, 25 km far from Pune, Maharashtra.
Mr. Chandrakanth Rangnath Jadhav
Direct sales began in the year 2010. “We surveyed and identified the locations in Pune city having society with 500+ flats. Both of us visited and spoke with the management. We offered them to sell our organically produced exotic veggies at 20% lesser price than the market rates. In addition we promised them to supply the freshly harvested vegetables twice in a week,” says Mrs. Seema. The luck favored Jadhav couple and they got the nod from the management for bringing their fresh farm produce two days in a week. As the service and products were good the husband-wife duo got three more societies through reference. “We could manage the vegetable requirements from these four societies very well. We are able to sell off completely. If some days in case the stock remains unsold after 12 hours from harvesting time then we sell it to the traders.”
Harvesting is done before 9 pm on the delivery days. The veggies are then sorted, packed and tagged with the selling price. The vegetable packets are then stacked carefully in the crates. “It is an extra effort we take but it is worth every minute. We do not want to lose a customer for one day’s short gain. We have to see them every week so we are extremely particular about the quality we offer. It takes time to gain the confidence of the buyers with immense good work but one mistake spreads like fire and loss is tremendous!” asserts Mr. Jadhav. To facilitate the transportation, the delivery van was purchased. “We travel four times a week, two days two society.”
When asked about growing exotic vegetables, Mrs. Seema responds, “Initially we were growing the regular crops like maize, bajra and Indian veggies. The production was good but we were not happy with the revenues. So we were looking for a change! During the same time we came to know about the exotic vegetables’ cultivation hence we approached the concerned people. I took a 3-days training and started growing veggies.” It was small but prospective beginning for Jadhav couple. Vegetables grown are broccoli, red cabbage, Chinese cabbage, celery, parsley, cherry tomatoes, iceberg lettuce and coloured bell peppers.
All the veggies are cultivated in the small batches so that the production and harvesting is synchronized properly. First the saplings are developed from seeds. 10 gram seeds are sufficient to produce plants for one batch. The seeds are procured from Bangalore based seed supplier. It takes 20 days for the seed to sprout and grow into a healthy sapling. “We have small shade net to develop these saplings. Seeds are sown in cocopeat medium. Once the sapling is ready, we transplant in open field. The plants are fed with farm-produced manure and vermicompost to boost growth and waster is given by drip. To safeguard the farm from diseases, insects and pest we use neem. As we are mostly self-dependent farm we have better farm management practices and revenues are encouraging,” asserts Mr. Jadhav. The veggies are sold at Rs. 80-120/kg. “Although growing the veggies organically we keep prices reasonable because we sell it directly to the end consumer. Further, we do not have much over head expenses and customer trust is most important to us. We never want to fall out when our prices are every compared with the market prices. Therefore we are extremely careful with respect to price and quality.”
In time to come Jadhav couple plans to increase the production and approach more societies for direct sales. In addition, “We have got a system well in place for the direct sale. We produce only exotic vegetables but our customers also demand for routine veggies like tomato, onion, potato, green and chilies etc. Hence, we have tie up with some women farmers in our village who are growing these vegetables organically, so to extend help to them and earn a small commission we sell their vegetables alongside ours. Based on this model we want to expand our operations,” Mr. Jadhav reveals his business plan.
Farming is profitable when the farmer thinks like a businessman/employer not as employee to a trader, believes Mr. Jadhav and concludes, “If revenues are not satisfactory then change the selling strategy. When implementing the change, think big and approach the people who have the final decision power such as end consumer of our vegetable is retail buyer so it is best to propose the selling plan with the end user. It will certainly increase the profits by many folds.”
Contact details:
Jadhav Farms
At Post – Chimbli, Taluk Khed, Near Padmavati Mandir, District Pune – 410 512, Maharashtra
Mobile: 9552727970
Less money and long credit period are routine problems faced by the farmers when they sell their farm produce to middlemen. Nothing new about this but farmers thinking and implementing strategies like an entrepreneur is novel! “Pune is a big city where sky rising apartments are rising every year in big numbers. One apartment/society is just one stop where we get more than hundred customers at the same time. By direct selling our farm produce it is win-win situation for the buyers as well as for us! They save on their money and time and we gain high profits and better network of prospective buyers,” shares Mr. Chandrakanth Rangnath Jadhav. He established Jadhav Farms in 2007 along with his wife, Mrs. Seema Jadhav. They produce 10 different varieties of exotic vegetables using natural farming practices. The farm is located at Chimbli village, 25 km far from Pune, Maharashtra.
Mr. Chandrakanth Rangnath Jadhav
Direct sales began in the year 2010. “We surveyed and identified the locations in Pune city having society with 500+ flats. Both of us visited and spoke with the management. We offered them to sell our organically produced exotic veggies at 20% lesser price than the market rates. In addition we promised them to supply the freshly harvested vegetables twice in a week,” says Mrs. Seema. The luck favored Jadhav couple and they got the nod from the management for bringing their fresh farm produce two days in a week. As the service and products were good the husband-wife duo got three more societies through reference. “We could manage the vegetable requirements from these four societies very well. We are able to sell off completely. If some days in case the stock remains unsold after 12 hours from harvesting time then we sell it to the traders.”
Harvesting is done before 9 pm on the delivery days. The veggies are then sorted, packed and tagged with the selling price. The vegetable packets are then stacked carefully in the crates. “It is an extra effort we take but it is worth every minute. We do not want to lose a customer for one day’s short gain. We have to see them every week so we are extremely particular about the quality we offer. It takes time to gain the confidence of the buyers with immense good work but one mistake spreads like fire and loss is tremendous!” asserts Mr. Jadhav. To facilitate the transportation, the delivery van was purchased. “We travel four times a week, two days two society.”
When asked about growing exotic vegetables, Mrs. Seema responds, “Initially we were growing the regular crops like maize, bajra and Indian veggies. The production was good but we were not happy with the revenues. So we were looking for a change! During the same time we came to know about the exotic vegetables’ cultivation hence we approached the concerned people. I took a 3-days training and started growing veggies.” It was small but prospective beginning for Jadhav couple. Vegetables grown are broccoli, red cabbage, Chinese cabbage, celery, parsley, cherry tomatoes, iceberg lettuce and coloured bell peppers.
All the veggies are cultivated in the small batches so that the production and harvesting is synchronized properly. First the saplings are developed from seeds. 10 gram seeds are sufficient to produce plants for one batch. The seeds are procured from Bangalore based seed supplier. It takes 20 days for the seed to sprout and grow into a healthy sapling. “We have small shade net to develop these saplings. Seeds are sown in cocopeat medium. Once the sapling is ready, we transplant in open field. The plants are fed with farm-produced manure and vermicompost to boost growth and waster is given by drip. To safeguard the farm from diseases, insects and pest we use neem. As we are mostly self-dependent farm we have better farm management practices and revenues are encouraging,” asserts Mr. Jadhav. The veggies are sold at Rs. 80-120/kg. “Although growing the veggies organically we keep prices reasonable because we sell it directly to the end consumer. Further, we do not have much over head expenses and customer trust is most important to us. We never want to fall out when our prices are every compared with the market prices. Therefore we are extremely careful with respect to price and quality.”
In time to come Jadhav couple plans to increase the production and approach more societies for direct sales. In addition, “We have got a system well in place for the direct sale. We produce only exotic vegetables but our customers also demand for routine veggies like tomato, onion, potato, green and chilies etc. Hence, we have tie up with some women farmers in our village who are growing these vegetables organically, so to extend help to them and earn a small commission we sell their vegetables alongside ours. Based on this model we want to expand our operations,” Mr. Jadhav reveals his business plan.
Farming is profitable when the farmer thinks like a businessman/employer not as employee to a trader, believes Mr. Jadhav and concludes, “If revenues are not satisfactory then change the selling strategy. When implementing the change, think big and approach the people who have the final decision power such as end consumer of our vegetable is retail buyer so it is best to propose the selling plan with the end user. It will certainly increase the profits by many folds.”
Contact details:
Jadhav Farms
At Post – Chimbli, Taluk Khed, Near Padmavati Mandir, District Pune – 410 512, Maharashtra
Mobile: 9552727970