IDF is a promoting org that supports FPOs in KarnatakaSrikant from IDF
Spoke with senior leadership and a couple farmers
Thanks to ashok for the notes
...
Siddappa, Nagavalli, Tumkur (Nov 11)- Arecanut, Coconut, Banana and Ragi
Is supplying Banana to FPC
How do you learn about sales opportunities today ?
Google/ Phone calls/ Mandis/ Peer farmers- He demonstrated Coconut prices of Tumkur using google.
What is the most critical information you need about a sales opportunity to decide if you want to participate ?
Price, Transportation cost, Know someone in the market, payment terms , time spent on marketing, fair practices like weighting.
How much of your total production is for sale? How much do you sell through the FPO?
Have started to sell Banana since few weeks ( since FPC opened its purchase centre ) It is whole harvest i sell at FPC
What all purposes are served by FPO for you ?
Input supply, FI from idf and Banana sales
Do you face any difficulties/delays in dealing with FPO ?
No
Do you log any information about your crops today ?
No-If people ask for the information i will provide. I can also give information on mobile if interface is good
When do you contact FPO for selling your crops ? At which stage of crop cycle ?
I dont contact, I know the days they purchase Banana and i just take it there. But yes would be nice to get heads up from the buyer about the quality and price in advance ( a day before)
(Show data entry interface) Can you use this interface to enter data? What seems easy to use and what seems hard?- Did not do it
How do you get paid by the FPO today? What challenges / frustrations do you have with that process? - I get cash from the company and i am ok with the cash. Though i have smart phone i don't use any payment apps
...
Narayana Swamy, Hebburu, Tumkur ( Nov 11)-Arecanut, Coconut , Banana and Ragi
How do you learn about sales opportunities today ?
APMC commission agents/ Traders/ Peer farmers/ IDF company and Kisan centre. ( He showed msg on his phone about the prices of Coconut from Kisan centre)
What is the most critical information you need about a sales opportunity to decide if you want to participate ?
Price, Transportation cost, Know someone in the market, commission ,payment terms , weighing practices
How much of your total production is for sale? How much do you sell through the FPO?
Have started to sell Banana ( last stages of harvest) for the last two to three weeks. They ( idf) have started this centre recently. We will supply all our items to the company only if they start purchasing.
What all purposes are served by FPO for you ?
Input supply, FI from idf
Do you face any difficulties/delays in dealing with FPO ?
No
Do you log any information about your crops today ?
Yes, Kisan centre over phone and register phone number to get message
When do you contact FPO for selling your crops ? At which stage of crop cycle ?
Usually i dont contact anyone, i know that they are purchasing Banana twice a week. If they need more Banana , they would inform me over phone or inform me when i am there to sell.
(Show data entry interface) Can you use this interface to enter data? What seems easy to use and what seems hard?- Did not do a demo.I am willing to provide the data you need if it is helping me to find the market/ or to get the prices.
How do you get paid by the FPO today? What challenges / frustrations do you have with that process? - Cash from FPO because transactions are small. I do get cheques when i sell Coconut to APMC or to coconut board.
...
Srikant is a senior person there who runs FPO programs (Nov 9)
Realtime view to marketable surplus is critical, need this to make decisions on which buyers to target and other items
Have worked with Samudra Network who has created a database of farmers incl crop, area, personal info. Tool is currently used by used by FPC staff, goal is for farmers to enter info directly
Goal is a single view of input requirement + marketable surplus + farmer profile
Aggregating farmer demand for inputs also important
80% of IDF FPO biz is input procurement (total biz = 7cr past year, could have 2x greater with improved visibility)
B2B connectivity critical to drive volumes
Have utilized NeML, Indimart, IndiaExports. Inquires through Indiamart and Exports but no transactions
With NeML, 50 attempted transactions past 2-3 months only a few completed with copra (total sales = 5 lakh)
Find that buyers are aggressive on price. For example for bengal gram, buyers looking for 43 per kg, FPO looking for 50 per kg (based on local market price + transaction / transport fees)
NeML buyers are agribusiness companies and large traders supplying retailers and smaller traders. They buy in large quantities (hundreds of tons)
Workflow. Srikant is key person on the supply side and coordinates with the FPC CEO. NEML facilitates convos with buyers.
FPC posts what is available for sale.
Receives quantity and quality requirements from buyers and FPC provides price based on local market prices
FPC sends photos over whatsapp to NeML who shares with buyers
Buyers come back and negotiate on price
Quality parameters vary by commodity incl diameter, color, weight; no request for physical samples yet
Is there is agreement, seller deposits 2% of inventory in account and buyer deposits entire amount
48 hours for FPC to supply
NeML collects 0.25% commission
D2C is interesting for brand development, expect this to remain a niche market with limited volumes. Didn’t seem like this is highest priority for IDF
...