So far, Fundmycrop has worked with fruit and vegetable farmers in Dharwad, Belagavi and Mysuru.
Some farmers associated with Fundmycrop
Crowdfunding has become a result-oriented new way of raising awareness about everything from social issues, natural disasters, urgent requirements of those in need, and even business ideas. And now, a young duo from Karnataka is using the concept to help farmers in the state earn a steady income and eliminate middlemen. Fundmycrop, a platform started by 23-year-old Nithin Bhat and 24-year-old Sharath aims to combine a subscription-based advance payment model with crowdfunding to not only help urban families and millennials connect with farmers, but to also enable the latter to earn assured salaries for their fruit and vegetable crop. The cofounders The initiative was started by the engineering graduates in January this year, and has also found some backing through government schemes. Incubated at Manipal Universal Technology Business Incubator (MUTBI), Fundmycrop has been selected under the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (NIDHI-EIR) Scheme of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Science and Technology. MUTBI at Manipal is one of the Program Execution Partners of the NIDHI-EIR Scheme. It has also been selected to receive a grant under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana-Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation Scheme (RSVY-RAFTAAR). How it works Fundmycrop tweaked their business model just a month ago to make it more sustainable. Sharath explains how it will work: If a farmer has an acre of land and can grow 10,000 kilos of tomatoes, this information will be made available on Fundmycrop. “If you want to buy five kilos, you pay for that much in advance. Similarly, someone else can book two kilos. This way, we hope to ensure that the entire 10,000 kilos has takers.” “This is called advance buying,” adds Nithin. “You are helping the farmer grow what you require.” This quantity is then delivered directly to your home weekly, he adds. In doing so, Sharath says that they hope to remove middlemen, and also make urban populations connect with the farmer. “You can go to the field, which will likely be around 30 kilometres from the city, see the crops and so on. Gamification of anything makes it appealing to urban millennials,” Nithin points out. So far, Fundmycrop has worked with fruit and vegetable farmers in Dharwad, Belagavi and Mysuru. Presently, they have around 19 subscribers for this model – mostly apartment dwellers and families – and deliveries of the produce are likely to start by November 15. At the time of writing, the co-founders said that they are focused on Mysuru. Why the earlier model was ditched Earlier, Fundmycrop’s model allowed people to invest anywhere from Rs 2000 to Rs 5 lakh in a farmer of their choice on their platform. This was the crowdfunding aspect – where people could pledge their desired amount. These funds would be used by the farmer to cultivate crops, which would subsequently be sold by Fundmycrop to B2B clients. While 70% of the profit earned would go to the farmer, investors would get 5% interest after three months on their investment. However, Nithin and Sharath realised that this was not a sustainable model. “There were many hidden costs that we had not taken into account,” explains Nithin. “Sometimes, the produce was not good, or even if the crop failed, we had to get it from elsewhere for the B2B clients. We would also have to return the money to the investors with 5% interest regardless of anything. Profits would vary based on the market price at the time too.” At the time, Fundmycrop was looking at a demand of 400 kg from various companies that provide grocery items and delivery. Further, after surveying around 750 farmers, the co-founders realised that initial investment was not really a problem for fruit and vegetable farmers. Their earlier model was seeking to provide cultivators with the funds even before they sowed the crop. “The real issue farmers were facing was that of good prices for their produce, and assured returns,” the co-founders say. Therefore, Fundmycrop decided to change things up. Now they assure a fixed price per unit of the fruit or vegetable to the farmer – this depends on the market price too. The farmer gets whichever is higher. Once the funds are received through crowdfunding, Fundmycrop disburses the amount to the farmers in pre-decided monthly instalments. “Like a salary,” notes Sharath, “which is what we learnt during our surveys. The farmers wanted a steady source of income.” By next year, Fundmycrop hopes to have anywhere from 100 to 1,000 subscribers on board to “adopt” these farmers, be involved with them, and help them earn steady incomes.
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