2. Introductions
Venkata Subramanian
• Founder & Managing Director, Matchbox Solutions &
eFarm, Chennai
Brief profile :
MS (Computer Science), 2003,University at
Albany, NY ,
B.Arch , IIT Kharagpur ,1995 , India
12 years of experience in IT industry in both
technology & commercial roles (7+ years in US)
Head of key outsourcing & consulting accounts
in Insurance, Capital Markets & Banking
4. agenda
The Indian Food Market : An Overview
Food Impact : Cost , Health , Contaminants
Solutions
Going organic : facts from fiction
Supply chain : The dubba wallah way
Processing the food : value addition , increase life
Composting agro waste : eco friendly + money
5. The Food Impact : How it affects
you
Economic
High price of vegetables, fruits , commodities
Health
Chemical residues , Adulterations
Social
Food scarcity = potential riots ?
Large migration to cities from villages
You are what you eat
6. the Problem statement
Only a crystal clear question yields a
transparent answer
– Zen saying
7. Cultivation In India : An Overview
•Land – Scarce , segregated
•Water – Rain fed , Contaminated , deep bores
•Seeds – Unavailable, Expensive, Hybrids , Local
varieties vanishing
•Labour – expensive , migrating to cities
•Market price – unpredictable
•Net effect : Loss – surviving on subsidies
10. Pain areas | The Agri Supply Chain
Current State : Too Many Steps , Too Little Value Addition
Harvesting of
Terminal markets to
Vegetables
• Unorganized , unregulated , neighborhood wholesalers
unprofessional & unprofitable
•A Middlemen’ dominated market
1
•Adhoc /Arbitrary Decisions on quality &
price 5
•No accurate DATA
Regional mandi to Terminal Wholesalers to Retailers
4 markets near large cities
A local mandi
auctioning 2
Local to Regional mandis
for Auction
6
Loss in transit
40%
Price hike Retailers to Dining Table
3 End to end
> 400%
7
12. Pain areas | Marketing -The
missing link ?
The missing FIFTH ‘P’ of marketing in
agri context - PERISHABILITY !!
Other industries have differentiated
production from marketing/sales
Agriculture – Farmer handles both roles
Brands have value !! Indian products
though have wider varity and better taste
have not established a stable brand
13. Pain Areas |
So many solutions , but why still a crisis ?
R&D
ICT
solutions
Increase
yield
Contract
farming Export
market
Cold
chain
Modern retail
& logistics Micro finance
& Grants
14. Market Scenario|
Burning Crisis or Booming Oppurtunity ?
India’s Total production of fruits & vegetables =
• 100 Million Tonnes = Rs 650,000 Crores (value) [ 1 tonne = 1000 kgs]
Wastage in transit/handling/distribution = 40%
Current market segmentation of organised players: Key focus
areas for
• Organised retail/Branded retailers share in F&V : 1.5% govt. for
• Food processing sector : 1% ( key pain : erratic supply) urgent
improveme
• Export sector : 1% (key pain : poor grading, quality checks) nt
Typical DAILY requirement of fruits & vegetables of Tier 1 city/metro :
• 4000 tonnes = Rs 6 crores value
Source : IMAGES F&R Research Study , Govt of India , Dept. of Agriculture, Min. of Food processing
15. The solution
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of
thinking we used when we created them."
Albert Einstein
16. Some Popular Myths and Misconceptions About
Organic Farming and Produce
Ice breakers
Is organic farming a recent innovation ?
Is organic expensive ?
Is organic just mean ‘using cow dung’ ?
How can 'excreta' be rich in nutrients ?
Is organic relevant in 'modern' scientific world ?
Is yield poor in organic ?
How do I know it is “Certified” 100% organic ?
17. Myth Busters
Big, large does NOT automatically mean HEALTHY
19. Myth Busters …
Organic is a „complete‟ way of life : like Yoga ,
Ayurveda – watch out for scam artists !
America was discovered by MISTAKE – Columbus
wanted to come to India to trade in our agri
products !
Certifications and patents : Why we are forcing
„Indian farmers‟ to certify to „western‟ standards ?
33. Value proposition |
Unlock revenue potential across the chain
Cleaning / Packing
Quality Routing
Inspection/ Grading
Long haul
Transportation
Rural Produce Local vendors
Collection Centres Small retailers
Farmers
Urban area
Local Distribution centre
Distribution
Compost/Manure Food Processing
from waste units
Bulk buyers
(Hotels / Caterers /
Exports
Retailers)
eFarm Common Services
Planning & Call centre / Training &
Research Technology
Coordination Communication Support
34. Key Innovations
1) Weighing machine = standardise agri business transactions !
Bundles, baskets , bags Kilograms , Counts
2) Simple grading = right quality to right customer!!
Mixed grades S / M / L (Or) excellent / OK /bad
3) Simple technology = widest usage !!!
PCs, Websites Mobile phones , Voice, SMS
35. Solution | The Big Picture – Connecting The Dots
Value added resellers
Sorting , Grading , Processing, Packing
Storage
Warehouses
Bulk buyers
Exporters
Farmers
Cooperatives
Collection centers
Kiranas
Self Help
Groups
Hawkers
Village ICT kiosks
Phone booths Logistics Fleet Small Independent transporters
Mobile operators operators Intra-city small tempos
36. Ground Operations Model
Inspired by the „best‟ supply chain system
in Indian conditions
•Product Category : Perishable food items
•IT Systems usage : NIL
•Management team : Illiterate and average age of 55
•Age of company : Over 150 years
•Customer Segment : From slumdwellers to crorepathis
•Operational efficiency : Six sigma !!!
The Mumbai Dubbawallahs !!!
• Key success factors :
• Highly decentralized operations – agile, flexible , scalable
• Use of low cost transport medium – trains
• Use of human power for last mile delivery – No Fuel related
hikes
• Strong customer relationship – personal , localised
• Simple coding, routing, labelling system – operates even without
electricity !
• Delivery excellance – fixed time , professionalism
37. Technology | Farmer side
Farmer’s produce
database
• Produce name, variety
• Grade
• Typical yield at harvest Supply side forecasting tools / Sourcing planner
• Harvest cycles /frequency
• Cost of production
• Location / closest pickup point
Cost of production / Fair Price analysis tools
Rural call centres / Mobile sms for data updates
38. Technology | Customer side
Agri CRM Requirements analysis and
demand projection
Order capture
(Mobile / Customer portal)
MIS & Dashboard
Delivery Tracking
POS systems for agri
39. Collection centres |
Localised sourcing points, Planned aggregation
Mobile collection trucks for
remote areas
Over 2500 farmers
enrolled and active Standardised Quality checks , Grading &
Weighing process established
On the spot payment
of fair price
Established Collection points close
to villages
40. Distribution centre |
Close to urban customers , Localised distribution
Local
Loading & packing as per distribution
customer specs to customer
site
2000 sq ft facility for
handling 5 tonnes / day
Customer
visits ,
feedback
Value addition by
peeling/cutting
Verify arrivals, inventory Composting of waste ,
conversion to manure
41. The Ideal Agri-preneur
.. Ready to
jump into
fire …
Have the
discipline of a
soldier …. .. But still ‘enjoys’
doing the
impossible !
