Venkata Subramanian , Founder - eFarm

eFarmEnabling FArmers to Reach Markets

Using IT to Solve the Agri Crisis

Presented at the session :

The “As You Go” Magic Wand that makes

IT affordable for the micro-enterprise

Knowledge Partner for the Session Event Organizer

Introduction : The FoundersVenkata Subramanian , COO

MS (Computer Science), SUNY Albany, Newyork , 2003

B.Arch , IIT Kharagpur , India , 1995

Over 12 years experience (1995-2007) in IT industry in roles such as Program management, Portal development for BFSI clients, Outsourcing and Consulting

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Srivalli , CEO

MBA (ICFAI), 2000

B.Com Taxation, NMKRV, 1997

8 years experience in Sales, Marketing, & Operations. Has run two start-ups and organised

fund raising for NGOs as part of CSR programs.

Technology & Operations

IT / Call entre

IT Dev. & Testing Team

Operaions

Purchase & Delivery Team

Call centre

Call centre / BPO staff

Domain Consultants

Marketing and HR

Marketing HR

Interns

Finance

Currently Better known as …. ‘Hi-Tech Subziwallahs’ of Chennai

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Most Promising

Startup 2011

Can privatizing agriculture solve

marketing problems?

Farmer’s Notebook , M.J. PRABU

A network of collection centres and distribution centre in Chennai and surrounding districts, procuring daily from over 2500 farmers and supplying to leading retail outlets,hotels, caterers and restaurants in the city.

What does a ‘Farmer’ got to do in a

‘MSME’ Conference ?

Farmer as an entrepreneur

Villagers are ‘illiterate’ . How can they understand

hi-tech?

Mobile phone Social Networking : urban v/s rural

Education v/s Intelligence

Farmers are poor and used to ‘freebies’.They cannot

afford to ‘buy’ ?

Land costMobile phone + top up

How we counter ‘freebie’ argument

Pain areas | The Agri Supply Chain Current State : Too Many Steps , Too Little Value Addition

Wholesalers to Retailers

Terminal markets to neighborhood wholesalers

Regional mandi to Terminal markets near

large cities

Harvesting of Vegetables

A local mandi auctioning

Local to Regional mandis for Auction

• Unorganized , unregulated , unprofessional & unprofitable•A Middlemen’ dominated market•Adhoc /Arbitrary Decisions on quality & price

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2

3

4

5

6

Retailers to Dining Table

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Loss in transit 40%

Price hike

End to end

> 400%

So many solutions , but why still a crisis ?“Blind men and the elephant” syndrome in agri

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Without reliable

and LIVE data

any agri

interventionOr

agri-business will be

A

failureCold chain

GM foodsSubsidies, Loans, grant

s

Increase yield

FDI in Retail

Export market

R & D

Contract farming

Reality Check• No accurate , dynamic data on supply • No market research on customer demand• No data = Wild guesses ?

Lack of Data| No visibility to supply or demand

“Desi” Problems need ‘Jugaadu’ solutions

efarmDirect is a

B2B online platform which uses simple ICT tools to

CONNECT farmers with all the agrisupply chain stakeholders to build a

nationwide farmer’s marketing portal

What does Farmer ‘really’ need?Key problems for farmer 1) Limited choice of buyers2) Lack of Labour3) Rising Input Costs of agro-supplies4) Rising Transport Costs5) Unviable market prices

All other Industries use ICT tools and Software

applications to manage operations

Whereas,Farmers have not been IT enabled and are cut

off from the ‘new’ world

Buyers

Suppliers Transporters

Labour

eFarmdirect.comWeb portal | Call centre| SMS

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DEMO : EFARMDIRECT

How Does It Work ?1.Collect Farmers

Information

2.Collect Buyers

Information

3.Setup Rural Call centres

Dynamic updates through mobile/sms

Buyer-Seller matchmaking

4. Register Agriinput suppliers /

dealers

5.Transporters

6.Labour

7.Expand to new locations

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

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Details are in efarmdirect website

•Registration process•Video/Presentation

How to Access the eFarmDirect Platform ? Human-Technology Interfaces

eFarmDirect Platform

Franchisee / Sales person ,

Human assisted

Call centre / Rural BPO

Voice enabled Human-

Computer Interface

(IVRS / Web 2 voice / Natural

language processing)

SMSWeb portal /

Mobile devices

Expected Usage pattern : Sales person/Franchisee ( 25% ) , Local language Call

centre / Rural BPO (45%) , IVRS / Voice driven self driven – (10%) ,SMS – 15%

,Web / Smart phones < 5%

Why ? -Most people are ‘off the web’ as in remote areas , Primary users not computer savvy

Technology development will focus on enhancing expected usage/behaviours through

any interface THEY choose ,and NOT force ICT on them !14

www.efarm.in | www.efarmdirect.com | Strictly Confidential | Materials may be subject to copyright | Do not circulate

Revenue Model

Farmer Buyer InputSupplier

Labour Transporter

Notes

Registration & Activation

50/- 100/- 200/- Rs 10/- 100/- ONE TIME, LIFETIME VALIDITY

Usage fees ANNUAL

Individualuser

600/- p.a 1500/- p.a 5000 p.a 120 p.a 1500 p.a

Monthly ‘top-up’ option/fee

60/- pm 150 p.m 500 p.m 15 p.m 150 p.m To encourage small users to signup

Corporate /Large unit

6000/-p.a

12000 p.a 18000 p.a 1000 p.a 15000 p.a Multiusers/chains/NGOs/Federations

DATA COLLECTION - FARMERProduction data

•Produce name, variety

•Grade

•Typical yield at harvest

•Harvest cycles

•Cost price at farm gate

•Organic ? Certifications ?

Farmer information

•Name

•Address

•Contact number

•Preferred mode of payment

•Bank / Post office details

•Photo

•Attestation

Other information

•Land type/irrigation type

•Banking information

How data is collected ?

•At farmer mela’s and

exhibitions

•Through partners like NGOs,

KVKs, Agri institutions, rural

banks and MFIs

•Through franchisees

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Basic Buyer-Seller Search and Features

Search by produce, availability, quantity, price

Farmer/buyer details with contact info

Demand / Supply projections for future planning

Map view for locating farmers by area 17

Advanced Features

Audio Visuals MarketingFarmers can add audio/videos/pictures about their produce / products to showcase uniqueness

GROUP view map small farmers to respective SHGs, Federations and Institution –enables ‘aggregate’ of quantities to meet larger demands as a ‘combined entity’

Rating and review mechanism farmers and buyers can provide feedback which builds transparency and identifies ‘good’ performers

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Value proposition | Connecting the Dots

Farmers

Rural Produce

Collection Centres

Quality

Inspection/ Grading

Cleaning / Packing

Routing

Long haul

Transportation

Urban area

Distribution centre

Small retailersLocal vendors

Food Processing

units

Exports

Bulk buyers

(Hotels / Caterers /

Retailers)

Compost/Manure

from waste

eFarm Common Services

Planning &

CoordinationResearch

Call centre /

CommunicationTechnology

Training &

Support

Local

Distribution

Every stakeholder is alternately a buyer or seller of agro goods, linked together by a common system. Thus :

Develop Online supply chain Technology backbone with offline distribution mechanisms

Create a network of farmers, intermediaries, logistics providers, distributors and retailers

Provide common support services like marketing , training , technology and agri business consulting

‘Organize’ the ‘un-organized’ rural to urban supply chain

Manage the network to ensure sustainability across the chain

Livelihood Generation and Social Impact

• Creating Agri entrepreneurs in Rural Areas • Rural youth/ Women are trained as local representatives for data

collection/updation

• Revenue from commissions and value added services

• Providing Employment for Disabled and Under priveleged

• Call centres/BPOs operated by differently abled – visually challenged , speech/hearing impaired

• Job opportunities for those tapping unconventional talent pool of India

:

• Reverse migration to villages • Create labour pools of semi-skilled labourers for farm work who are

available ‘on-call’

• Create central equipment leasing model so that farmers can ‘hire-an-equipment and operator’ to reduce equipment costs

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•Company website :

•www.efarm.in

•Farmers Portal :

•http://www.efarmdirect.com/

Venkata Subramanian Founder & MD /COO

venky@efarm.in

(M) 98847 61354

Srivalli Krishnan Co-Founder, Director /CEO

srivalli@efarm.in

(M) 7418844275

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Next Training SessionSep 1st & 2nd