BENGALURU: Kokum, or Garcinia indica, and its twin sister Garcinia Cambogia are sought-after ingredients for weight loss. A known source of HCA, or hydroxycitric acid, it has huge demand across the globe. But what is not widely known is that it is available in abundance in the Western Ghats.
In 2013, Srikrishna Lakshminarayana Hegde (28), a native of Sirsi, after visiting a few metro cities, was surprised to know about the demand for Kokum. Belonging to a farmer’s family, Hegde had seen how farmers in his own village were not ready to grow Kokum because there was no demand. He then decided to provide a platform through ‘ConnectFarmer’ to balance the supply chain.
Speaking about his venture, Hegde says, “ConnectFarmer is an effort to economically empower small farmers in India. There is a lack of organised market facility for the processed farm products and unconventional crops in India. There has been no considerable effort to improve the market opportunity for the processed farm products. These products are the way to earn a stable and extra income for the farmers if provided a good market opportunity.” ConnectFarmer fills this gap.
“In India, Kokum is an ingredient in traditional dishes. Butter extracted from Kokum seeds is a very good medicine for dry skin. Also, this is the only butter which remains in solid state even at room temperature. When I found out that there was a huge demand, I thought that by giving a modern touch to the traditional fruit, I can help farmers sell their produce without any interference from middlemen,” says Hegde.
Hegde was completing articleship for CA at that time. Alongside, he started researching about improving the financial condition of the farmers in his village. Two years later, after attending many events hosted by farmers like Krishi Melas, and after talking to hundreds of farmers, he decided to start a co-operative in 2015. “It wasn’t even registered. It was just an informal gathering to address the woes of farmers. But after seeing their enthusiasm I wanted to make it big and that’s how ConnectFarmer was born,” he says.
“We started off with making Kokum juice – a value-added product and started selling it online. The response was good. When the word spread across the villages, I found out that there are many such value-adding produce like jackfruits, squash, honey, fruit juice, areca nuts and more. But the farmers had no idea how to sell it. What started as a blog, later took shape as an online platform, owing to huge demand,” he says.
Initially, it wasn’t a cakewalk for Hegde. He and three of his friends, a team of four core committee members, had raised funds for the website from their own pockets. They met farmers individually and briefed them about the market value of a few products, importance of marketing, and assured them good returns, provided they give a good finishing to the product. They visited local markets and bought plastic containers and gunny bags to teach farmers the importance of packaging the product to make it look ‘sellable’. When the product is market-ready, they put it on the website to sell.
Earlier, farmers would struggle to sell their products outside the district.
Today, with ConnectFarmer, their products are being sold across the country for a good price. This is motivating other farmers to join hands with ConnectFarmer. They courier the products through India Post, which is hassle-free.
Today, they are a network of about 10,000 farmers, with around 300 producing and selling agricultural products on the platform. With Digital India slowly making its way to villages, Hegde hopes that the numbers will go up in the coming years. Except for a small processing fee, the entire money of the product is given to the farmers.
Some of the most-sought-after products include Kokum products, raw honey, black rice, areca leaf caps and fruit squash.
Need KMF-like model
Citing the KMF model, where government takes care of everything — from proving fodder and medicines for cows to packaging the milk and distributing it to people – Hegde says a similar model for farm products is needed. “No matter which crop a farmer grows, he is always under loss and in debt. And if you look at the demand, it is always high. So where is the money going? To middlemen. Eliminating them can help farmers to a great extent. That’s why we need a KMF-like model too sell agriculture produce. In KMF, they even fix the price. So nobody is under loss,” he says.
From farmers to retailers
For the last six months, Hegde is working on selling produce directly to retailers. This will help farmers make more money as retailers usually purchase in bulk, he says.
First product sold
The first online order, he says, came from Bengaluru,
just a few days after the website was launched. “It was for a Kokum syrup,” Hegde says.
Scholarship from Germany
Recognising ConnectFarmer, Do School, a social innovation school in Berlin, Germany offered him a scholarship worth B1 lakh. “Foreigners have recognised the website but here, there is no support from the government for this farmer-friendly initiative,”he rues.
