By Pavan Murthy

Though there are many government policies preventing middlemen from exploiting farmers, they have remained in paper without making any difference in local markets. They continue to fleece farmers and pocket most of the profits while farmers return almost empty handed though they toil year-round in their fields.

A silent revolution is happening in Mysuru where fresh vegetables are being shipped to Kerala without the intervention of middlemen and the farmers (growers) call the shots here. Farmers have tied up with Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) for the supply of vegetables and the prices are on the lines with Horticorp.

The initiative is being led by Raitha Mitra Farmers Producers’ Company, an organisation that is managed by farmers and strives for their welfare. There are about 1,200 farmers and over 225 of them grow vegetables. The company was set up by farmer leader Kuruburu Shanthakumar in 2014 and was officially launched in March 2017.

The company intends to provide a market for the crops grown by farmers where there is no involvement of middlemen, provide information about best practices of farming activities, scientific approach to farming and assist farmers in their day-to-day activities.

The vegetables grown by 225 member farmers are purchased by the company as per the rates fixed by Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) and pays for the produce on-the-spot. The company began its activities on March 15 this year and so far it has shipped 1,200 tonnes of vegetables and fruits to the consumers. By supplying vegetables to the company farmers are saving the 10% commission to merchants and 2 kg wastage on 50 kg produce.

On an average, 50 to 60 tonnes of vegetables, sourced from over 225 growers in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts, are supplied to Horticorp in Kerala thrice a week after minimal processing, such as cleaning and grading. Cleaning is done through a chemical-free system.

Growers, through the company, are now trying to strike a deal with the Kerala government to formalise the business relationship. Plans are also on cards to purchase vegetables from Kerala and sell it to consumers in Mysuru, said Kuruburu Shanthakumar. “We have already approached APMC authorities to set up a chemical-free vegetable cleaning plant and a fruit ripening plant at Bandipalya APMC Market and have obtained a godown on rental basis at APMC premises,” he said.

The shares of the company have been purchased by 1,200 farmers and 25 percent of the total share amount has been invested by the Centre as bonus share. “This has enabled our farmer-based company to obtain loans up to Rs. 1 crore in any bank. Ours is the second company to have obtained this facility from the Centre. In 2016-2017, we have conducted business worth Rs. 2.5 crore,” Shanthakumar said.

On the vegetable trade with Kerala, he said that very soon, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed with the Kerala government to make the deal official. “We had been to Thiruvananthapuram recently with a team of farmers and met Kerala Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar and we hope that the deal will be formalised soon,” he said.

The team also visited Horticorp’s procurement centres at Kollam and Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram to check how vegetables and fruits transported by the company are handled and distributed.

“There, Horticorp bears transportation charges and cleaning and grading charges. The company gets 5% service charge. Interestingly, Horticorp has fixed minimum support price (MSP) for six vegetables to ensure that farmers do not suffer losses in case of price crash,” he added.

SUPER-FOOD CHIA

The Raitha Mitra Farmers Producers’ Company encourages farmers of Mysuru to produce ‘super-food’ Chia of South American origin in a large scale and very soon, packaged ready-to-use Chia seeds will enter the retail market.

Kuruburu Shanthakumar said that over 200 farmers are growing the crop in parts of Mysuru district with technical support from the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI). “Chia is a super-food that can be cultivated with less natural resources and it brings good profit. We have already sold 35 tonnes of Chia that has been grown by farmers,” he said.

To grow one kg of ragi it requires 750 litres of water and it needs only 600 litres of water to grow the same amount of Chia. Another notable point here is that Chia does not need any fertiliser and a farmer can reap profits up to Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 70,000 per acre, deducting all the expenditure.

“Raitha Mitra Farmers Producers’ Company has plans to market 200 grams of Chia containers in the retail market. Chia can be fried and consumed along with the staple upma or can be cooked to prepare various dishes. It is full of proteins and is a good diet supplement,” Kuruburu Shanthakumar added.