Jagtial couple creates platform to buy rice directly from ryots

Farming couple comes up with the platform to aid farmers to get better prices

Hyderabad: Farm sector, from production to storage to marketing, is besieged with inefficiencies. The farmers’ income dips even if one of these factors does not perform optimally.

A couple from Poodur village of Kodimial mandal of Jagtial has created a marketing platform –Farmer’s Bridge Basket Retail- on Whatsapp and also on the web with the twin objectives of helping farmers get better prices and also aid customers source unpolished rice, which is known for its health benefits.

This season, it will focus on rice. It has plans to add more farm products as per season. Farmer’s Bridge has so far got orders for about 500 kg but has set a target of 1,000 quintal in six months. Deliveries will begin this month and then it will employ about 15-20 people. Once the deliveries start, it will take 4 to 15 days to door delivery them to customers.

The startup is working with about 200 farmers from Karimnagar, Jagtial, and Sircilla. Most of the orders are from Hyderabad, said A Mounika, who co-founded Farmer’s Bridge together with her husband A Ganesh.

Mounika did diploma in management from Siva Sivani Institute of Management. The couple has been living in Hyderabad after marriage about one and half years ago.

How does it work?

The farmers take the paddy they produce to local mills. They pack the rice in bags that the startup provides and stores them at their houses. “Once we get the orders, we will go to the farmers, collect the stocks, and deliver them to customers. The price is fixed after including the overheads like travel and our commission. This will range from Rs 45 to 50. We are cutting multiple intermediaries that are normally involved in commodity trading,” she said.

The startup is taking orders of one quintal (25 kg 4 bags) and above. The delivery charges will be about Rs 50 per bag (25 kg). Based on the demand, it will take orders in units of 25 kg bags later. As of now, less than one quintal are not available.

“I am well versed with farming practices as I have grown up as a farmer,” said the 25-year old. Varieties like Jai Shreeram, Telangana Sona, BPT, HMT and others will be available. In the market, unpolished white rice is not very common.

The idea to set up a farmer-customer platform came when she had to buy rice in Hyderabad after the stocks she got from her parents’ field exhausted. “We were used to eating unpolished rice. The rice sold in the market was polished and we did not like the taste. That sowed the idea to offer unpolished rice to customers,” she said. Her husband, who goaded her to pursue management diploma, is lending a helping hand as he is working from home due to Covid.

The duo invested about Rs 10 lakh for furniture, registration, website, marketing and packaging.

On the problem being addressed, she said there are many middlemen in the supply chain. Their involvement increased costs to customers with no additional benefit to farmers. “We want to cut the chain. Farmers get a higher price than the MSP and customers will get the produce at a price that is lower than in the market,” said Mounika.

Orders can be placed via Whatsapp on 9441558550. For those who cannot store rice, the startup has planned Rice Bank’. Here the costs are paid upfront but the rice is delivered later. Here, the storage costs are also included.

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