As India’s first and the largest farm-to-retail digital ecosystem for natural fibre supply chain, ReshaMandi is working with several farmers, yarn manufacturers, fabric manufacturers and textile retailers. ReshaMandi is associated with the silk farmers across the silk belt of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. From the time of its inception, it has been working with them to understand the challenges farmers face and helping them to overcome them. Here is an overview of ReshaMandi creating an impact on the livelihoods of farmers.
The challenges and roadblocks
Lack of knowledge
Sericulture in our country is practised using traditional methods. Few of these methods are unscientific and might not give good crop yield. Without a proper approach and scientific guidance farmer’s hard work goes futile. Methods, technology, devices are imperative for silk farming to improve crop yield. The Farmer fleet is usually non-tech savvy, any device or technology that can be employed in the farms should be simple to use.
Lack of access to markets
After harvesting the crop, farmers need well-organised platforms and mediums to sell their produce. Farmers in remote villages usually do not have access to markets for selling their produce. It usually involves cumbersome travel or even after reaching the markets, middlemen, and improper storage facilities act as hurdles. In sericulture, cocoons are extremely temperature sensitive. Any lapse of time in cocoon procurement will definitely affect the prices.
Crop failure
Lack of guidance hampers the crop yield. Without proper guidance, framers cannot manage pests or diseases affecting the crop. Also, unfavourable conditions and temperature changes accompanying climate fluctuations make the chance of farmers harvesting a bumper crop yield every year bleak.
Need of the hour : The solution
ReshaMandi with groundbreaking technology, is changing the contour of silk farming in India.. Apart from empowering them by resolving the issues that affect their businesses, ReshaMandi is also adding an edge to their businesses. By providing the right support, it is reviving people’s interest in sectors like natural fibre farming. The Success story of sericulturist Devaraj, is a testament to ReshaMandi transforming humble sericulture farmers into successful entrepreneurs.
ReshaMandi is helping farmers to grow right
Low crop yield and bottlenecks obstructing produce marketing are crucial problems affecting farmers in India. ReshaMandi has gauged these problems, and has come up with feasible solutions that benefit the farmers.
Hailing from Siddlaghatta, Devaraj is a progressive farmer, pursuing sericulture for the past 10 years. For this IT diploma holder, agriculture is not just livelihood, it is also an integral part of his day-to-day life. He enjoys silkworm rearing and silk farming. He quit his government job to pursue his passion, agriculture. As a sericulturist he has experienced both lows and highs of it . He witnessed ReshaMandi, changing the traditional silk farming sector with its groundbreaking technology and making it a lucrative profession.
ReshaMandi by enabling smart precision farming with its ReshaSaathi IoT, has created an effective technique for farmers to grow better crops and reap higher profits.
Benefits of ReshaSaathi IoT include
- Increase in the thickness & weight of mulberry leaves.
- 12% increase in the
- 30% less chance of crop failure
- 48 hrs battery support with less battery consumption
- Real-time advisories to farmers
Devaraj, states that ReshaMandi has changed the way sericulture farming is practised. He suggests that every farmer should download the ReshaMandi app. ReshaSaathi IoT, is empowering farmers like Devaraj to monitor their crops on the go efficiently. There are timely updates about fluctuations in temperature, humidity in the field and rearing shed. The IoT device tracks the fluctuation, and communications about impairment in ideal conditions are sent over to the ReshaMandi app, thus helping farmers to maintain the apt environment for good crop growth.
ReshaMandi is helping farmers to sell right
While farmers are getting ample support to increase crop productivity through ReshaMandi’s tech-integrated solutions, it is also helping them to market their produce. For silk farmers, cumbersome long-distance travel is a problem of the bygone era. Devraj shares an instance in which he would get up as early as 4 a.m. in the morning to visit mandi to sell cocoons. Sometimes he would reach mandi one day before, and reserve a place to store his cocoons to sell. During this long-distance travel, cocoons are subjected to heat exposure, and loss of moisture which affects their weight and thus the price. However, by partnering with ReshaMandi, farmers like Devaraj are successfully overcoming this problem. Convenience and profitability are at their disposal. With ReshaMandi centres across the silk belt of India, sericulturists have easy access to markets, and can sell cocoons at the nearest ReshaMandi centres. at the right price.
ReshaMandi offers better earning avenues for farmers
According to Devaraj who approximately produces 10 tons of cocoons in a year, sericulture is definitely profitable when compared with other.
Silk farmer Devaraj prefers to be the captain of his own ship. He quit his government job to pursue his passion, agriculture. He has been associated with ReshaMandi for the past 2 years. He says with great pride that ReshaMandi has positively impacted his income profile. By selling cocoons at ReshaMandi centres he has earned good money and has also received incentives for selling chawkis.
Conclusion:
By partnering with such farmers, ReshaMandi is nurturing their passion for agriculture. Such unerring support to farmers will strengthen agriculture, the backbone of our economy. With apt methods and techniques, ReshaMandi is empowering farmers to become successful entrepreneurs and also making India Atmanirbhar in natural fibre production.
