The pandemic has been a good time for people to purchase fruits and vegetables directly from the farmer. Many have realised the goodness of this and are opting to do so even if it’s costlier.
New side business
Brother-sister duo, Adarsh Mandanna MB and Apeksha Bojamma, from Kodagu realised the potential when they started to selling avocados to their friends.
Speaking to Metrolife, Apeksha says, “About a month ago, we shared the information on Instagram about the sale of avocados (Rs 100 per kilogram) to our friends. Soon many others from across the city evinced interest and we started to supply more.”
The duo have gone around to most parts of Bengaluru to supply avocado. “There are plenty of avocados growing on our farm in Kodagu and because of the demand, my father has asked other estate owners to sell theirs too. We can easily get about 100 kgs per estate there,” she explains.
Thanks to the short drive and ease in lockdown, the duo are able to get the fruits on a regular basis. Instead of delivering it individually, they are now supplying it to different apartments. Due to increased demand, they are planning to extend it by a year, and are selling one kilo of avocados for Rs 150 now.
Apeksha says, “The season is almost over but we can still provide about 500 to 1,000 kg more. Many are encouraging us to remove the mediator and get the fruits ourselves because of the quality it has.”
Both of them are employees at Cult and due to the lockdown have more time to work on this concept, as a side business.
Favouring farmers
Chef Tanmoy Savardekar, on the other hand, has been a regular at getting varieties of mangoes from his uncle’s farm in Jamsande and Devgad areas. He says, “I’ve been sourcing mangoes, guava and bananas during harvest seasons from him for the last four years.”
He believes that farmers are exploited, especially in the current scenario. “The markets have a lot of middlemen and by the time the produce of Rs 30 (from the farmer) reaches us, it’ll be at least Rs 120 here. I decided to omit that and get the produce to Bengaluru directly. The amount charged or asked by them was promptly handed over to them,” he says.
Once it arrives in the city, Tanmoy updates details on his social media handles and those interested purchase it from him.
He points out that this year has been bad for farmers. He explains, “The main sales through export went down the drain and the middlemen have exploited the farmers. They had to resort to late harvesting, which resulted in delayed transport and interstate sales took a major hit. Some fruits ripened and fell off the tree, and farmers watched helplessly. However, the recent relaxation has given them some relief.”
Taking the initiative
When Rukma Mullagiri quit her corporate job in February, she found a new interest in local produce. She says, “I observed that people are willing to pay three or four times for vegetables and fruits imported from other countries even though some of those fruits are available in our country. Same people will be hesitant to purchase from local vendors and pay a lesser amount.”
She decided to step up and help these farmers by reaching out to buyers herself.
“As of now, I focus mainly on avocado and turmeric and help small farmers with two to five acres find a market here in the city. With customers from six different apartments spread across the city from Whitefield to JP Nagar both farmers and buyers are extremely happy,” she says. (With inputs from Hita Prakash)