Mr. Shashikant Patil has his own polyhouse farm and runs a nursery to promote more farmers to cultivate good crop.
Mr. Shashikant Patil, a brief introduction about yourself, please.
I hail from Maharashtra. I did my Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore University. For about 30 years I have been working as a lecturer and HOD at the Mechanical department of a Polytechnic College. I have had this side business from the last 10 years. We are Papaya and Chilly cultivators. There are many varieties of these plants. We grow as per the order we receive. We also grow sugar cane.
By chilly did you mean chilly or capsicum?
Chilly, itself.
How do you sell your produce?
I find it viable, so I sell it in the local market.
Which market do you sell your fruits?
We sell primarily in Delhi. We do sell in Pune, Mumbai, and Kolkata etc. But the main sales happen in Delhi. It all depends on who is taking the produce from you. There are local residents who advance book the produce upon payment from the farmer. By the time, the harvest is done, they come over with their trucks and load the fruits they had paid for and take it to other markets.
Can you give us details about your papaya cultivation?
I spend around 3lakh/per kg on the papaya seeds. I get it imported from Taiwan, repacked at Pune and I source it from there. I have to buy about 6-7 kg seeds per year. The plant would cost Rs 14/- I get a fully developed plant in about 2-3 months. These seeds are highly economical.
Can these seeds be used for cultivating the plant in an open area?
Yes, of course. We sell around 50-100 plants per day. We do sales from Maharashtra up to Delhi.
How many fruits approximately do you get per plant?
I get about 100 fruits from one plant.
How long do these plants take to bear fruit?
It takes about 9-10 months. And it continues to fruit for 4-5 months continuously. The fruiting is dependent on the temperature variation of the place you are cultivating the plant. The germination power of the seed decreases when the temperature drops.
After 4-5 months of fruiting, you will need new seeds and grow the plant again.
What rate will you get for these plants?
You will get it at a range of Rs.3 – Rs. 12/- per foot. Sometimes, it can even go down to Rs. 2/-. The max it can go to is Rs. 12/- per foot.
In your opinion, per year, on an average, what kind of income can this generate for a farmer?
You can make approximately Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre.
Do you supply the seed or the plant?
I can supply the plant and transport it by truck to the farmers' place. It will be stacked in plastic trays. Per tray, there will be about 162 -180 plants. It comes in two variants.
Do you also supply other seedlings like marigold, cauliflower, chilly, cabbage etc.?
All vegetables can be supplied.
What is the rate at which you supply seedlings?
We have to work out the rate depending on the distance. For the papaya plant, it comes to about Rs 14/-; the rate would come up to Rs. 1 per plant plus transportation charges.
In how many acres are you cultivating?
I cultivate in 1 acre of poly house and have kept about 20 workers per day to maintain it. I have been doing this since the last 10 years.
Are the black seeds within the papaya fruit of any use?
No nothing in particular that I know of. It will hurt my reputation if I give away something with no proper research. Today, I am like a guaranteed person in this field.
What is the investment involved?
About Rs 30 lakh - 50 lakh for about 1-3 acres.
Is this organic?
Yes.
Are there other fruits you deal with?
Other than this, I used to cultivate cauliflower. It is in high demand. I used to deal with it but it wasn't commercially very viable, so I switched to chilly.
What basic knowledge should the person have, to start off something like this?
The soil content should be checked first. They should have an understanding of the soil temperature etc. and most importantly, they should know the pulse of the market.
Do you encounter the problem of weeds, especially for cabbage and cauliflower?
I have asked people from the agricultural college to keep taking rounds on my field. They take care of all that.
Is your product certified?
Yes. I mean, the seeds that I buy are certified.
All your produce get sold?
Yes! There is no waste. I don't produce more than what is required. For the seeds I make a payment in advance.
Do you only deal in and around Maharashtra?
Yes - only in Maharashtra district - within 50-60kms of Maharashtra district. If my orders go up, I don’t mind expanding.
I don't have any issues taking up orders outside this belt. The only issue will be transportation. I buy seeds from Pune, Lucknow, etc.
When did you start Yash Nursery?
It has been about 10 years now.
Contact - Mr. Shashikant Patil
Yash nursery, Shahada Road Waghadi
Shirpur - 425405, Maharashtra
Phone-9423194516
Email : sspatil43@yahoo.com
http://www.yashnursery.com/
Mr. Shashikant Patil, a brief introduction about yourself, please.
I hail from Maharashtra. I did my Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore University. For about 30 years I have been working as a lecturer and HOD at the Mechanical department of a Polytechnic College. I have had this side business from the last 10 years. We are Papaya and Chilly cultivators. There are many varieties of these plants. We grow as per the order we receive. We also grow sugar cane.
By chilly did you mean chilly or capsicum?
Chilly, itself.
How do you sell your produce?
I find it viable, so I sell it in the local market.
Which market do you sell your fruits?
We sell primarily in Delhi. We do sell in Pune, Mumbai, and Kolkata etc. But the main sales happen in Delhi. It all depends on who is taking the produce from you. There are local residents who advance book the produce upon payment from the farmer. By the time, the harvest is done, they come over with their trucks and load the fruits they had paid for and take it to other markets.
Can you give us details about your papaya cultivation?
I spend around 3lakh/per kg on the papaya seeds. I get it imported from Taiwan, repacked at Pune and I source it from there. I have to buy about 6-7 kg seeds per year. The plant would cost Rs 14/- I get a fully developed plant in about 2-3 months. These seeds are highly economical.
Can these seeds be used for cultivating the plant in an open area?
Yes, of course. We sell around 50-100 plants per day. We do sales from Maharashtra up to Delhi.
How many fruits approximately do you get per plant?
I get about 100 fruits from one plant.
How long do these plants take to bear fruit?
It takes about 9-10 months. And it continues to fruit for 4-5 months continuously. The fruiting is dependent on the temperature variation of the place you are cultivating the plant. The germination power of the seed decreases when the temperature drops.
After 4-5 months of fruiting, you will need new seeds and grow the plant again.
What rate will you get for these plants?
You will get it at a range of Rs.3 – Rs. 12/- per foot. Sometimes, it can even go down to Rs. 2/-. The max it can go to is Rs. 12/- per foot.
In your opinion, per year, on an average, what kind of income can this generate for a farmer?
You can make approximately Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre.
Do you supply the seed or the plant?
I can supply the plant and transport it by truck to the farmers' place. It will be stacked in plastic trays. Per tray, there will be about 162 -180 plants. It comes in two variants.
Do you also supply other seedlings like marigold, cauliflower, chilly, cabbage etc.?
All vegetables can be supplied.
What is the rate at which you supply seedlings?
We have to work out the rate depending on the distance. For the papaya plant, it comes to about Rs 14/-; the rate would come up to Rs. 1 per plant plus transportation charges.
In how many acres are you cultivating?
I cultivate in 1 acre of poly house and have kept about 20 workers per day to maintain it. I have been doing this since the last 10 years.
Are the black seeds within the papaya fruit of any use?
No nothing in particular that I know of. It will hurt my reputation if I give away something with no proper research. Today, I am like a guaranteed person in this field.
What is the investment involved?
About Rs 30 lakh - 50 lakh for about 1-3 acres.
Is this organic?
Yes.
Are there other fruits you deal with?
Other than this, I used to cultivate cauliflower. It is in high demand. I used to deal with it but it wasn't commercially very viable, so I switched to chilly.
What basic knowledge should the person have, to start off something like this?
The soil content should be checked first. They should have an understanding of the soil temperature etc. and most importantly, they should know the pulse of the market.
Do you encounter the problem of weeds, especially for cabbage and cauliflower?
I have asked people from the agricultural college to keep taking rounds on my field. They take care of all that.
Is your product certified?
Yes. I mean, the seeds that I buy are certified.
All your produce get sold?
Yes! There is no waste. I don't produce more than what is required. For the seeds I make a payment in advance.
Do you only deal in and around Maharashtra?
Yes - only in Maharashtra district - within 50-60kms of Maharashtra district. If my orders go up, I don’t mind expanding.
I don't have any issues taking up orders outside this belt. The only issue will be transportation. I buy seeds from Pune, Lucknow, etc.
When did you start Yash Nursery?
It has been about 10 years now.
Contact - Mr. Shashikant Patil
Yash nursery, Shahada Road Waghadi
Shirpur - 425405, Maharashtra
Phone-9423194516
Email : sspatil43@yahoo.com
http://www.yashnursery.com/
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