Quick summary: India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world but yet contributes to about 1.5% of its market. Are our Farm and supply chain management solutions efficient? Technological innovations like Farm management software and Blockchain Technology can help close this gap. FMS helps both pre and post-harvest processes in smooth functioning and providing profitable and sustainable results.
Though India is one of the top producers and exporters of agricultural produce in the world, 40% of its produce is lost throughout the supply chain, this amounts to the volume of total commodity losses of about 92,651 Croce Rupees. Let us get to know where such losses occur in the supply chain and how these can be eliminated through the farm management system.
Farm management refers to any implication on farming decisions in organizing, operating and managing available resources to avail maximum profits. This objective constitutes a series of factors that affect its success.
Although the main objective is to obtain maximum returns from farming activity, it also concentrates to evaluate farmland activities and their resources, cropping patterns, capital, labor, technological advancements, the relative efficiency of various factor combinations, etc.
India’s diverse climate conditions make it a hotspot for the cultivation of various fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables alone amount to 22% of food production globally and India is its second-largest producer having an export worth of Rs. 9,940.95crores comprising of fruits worth Rs. 4,971.22crores and vegetables worth Rs. 4,969.73croces.
India’s major exports in fruits are Grapes, Pomegranates, Mangoes, Bananas and Oranges while Onions, Mixed Vegetables, Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Green Chilly contribute to the vegetable basket majorly exporting to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and also destinations like UAE, Netherlands, Malaysia, UK, Oman and Qatar.
Gap between farmers and exporters: The fruits and vegetable supply chain are fragile in India. This broken chain increases credit risk and limits credit flow creating a poor link that has kept the farmers at bay.
Export laws: Many procedures and rules have to be followed to be able to export a product. The lack of knowledge of such laws results in losses. Custom duty laws, traffic, compliance check, licensing, billing procedures, and insurance are a few to name.
Legal procedures: Apart from export laws in the exporting country, an exporter has to have a clear idea of rules in the foreign land to execute a hassle-free exchange. Various compliances, taxes, customs duties, tariffs, trade zones, billing, insurance and payment procedures, etc are to be analyzed beforehand.
Currency exchange: While it is easier to determine the pricing of manufactured produce, determining the export selling price would be difficult. Different currencies, fluctuations in currencies, and economic and political changes should be taken into account. The majority of trades around the world take place with currencies like the US Dollar.
Adequate infrastructure: An efficient workforce and proper logistics both in the exporting land as well as foreign land is required. Cold chain facilities, warehouses, traceability, technological infrastructure, information sharing, financial platforms, etc must be made available.
The export markets for fresh fruits is highly competitive among the top exporters. There is a need to access foreign markets and free trade agreements are one of the means to achieve this. It is also necessary to conform to quality standards and certifications to satisfy the stringent export requirements.
Farm Management solutions enable organizations to have a connected supply chain with end-to-end traceability and streamlined pre-harvest and post-harvest management to realize quality yields and boost productivity and profitability.
Check why food safety matters in fruit and vegetable supply chain.
A good farm management system should not only concentrate on produce and profits but should develop all aspects of farming activity such as managing risks, accountability, crop management, livestock management, inventory management, labor management, and planning and tracking field progress.
Data recording and analysis: FMS works by recoding and analyzing various functions relating to farm activity, this helps farmers to decide on efficient farming practices.
Optimum utilization: FMS helps in providing the right resources and its optimum amount of input utilization to achieve efficient and quality output. It provides sustainable ways to yield along with providing support in the management of soil, crop, fertilizers and water.
Eliminate wastage and reduce cost: As FMS concentrates on farming methods based on data collection; i.e. the appropriate use of a resource, fertilizers, water, manure and labor, enabling sustainable agriculture along with quality produce. By following such methods, agricultural residue and wastes can be reduced, contrary to earning more profits.
Traceability: A FMS is equipped with recording data at every stage of the supply chain creating a platform wherein all players of the supply chain possess potential information about the product’s process and journey. It not only concentrates on the external activity like the movement of product from processes, but it also records data internally and while producing the product. Right from the sourcing of raw materials, the process of cultivation, harvest, processing, packing, distribution and delivery are being recorded and analyzed for efficient development.
Blockchain is a digitalized data recording journal that stores data in Blocks, wherein every block is unique and time-stamped and cannot be tampered with. These are implemented in farm management to record data at every stage of the supply chain and share such data with players in the supply chain. They are shared through agreements known as smart contracts depending on the amount of data to be shared.
A blockchain is a tool that helps to manage farming activity based on the data inputs provided through Blockchain.
TraceX provides a one-stop solution to all farming needs with end-to-end traceability showcasing accountability and transparency.
Check TraceX’s Farm Management Solutions.
We digitalize the farming process and implement data connection through our app. We not only help in optimizing productivity and crop management, but we also help develop organizations and cooperatives to know and communicate better. FOSs are shared with farming data to keep a track of farm activity and protect farmers’ rights.
Geo-mapping of farmlands helps to accurately locate water bodies, land, and trees and eliminate pests. We provide location-specific details of farmlands to implement an appropriate farming technique for crop cultivation. It provides plot details, crop details, harvest dates and crop history.
Pest identification in specific locations can be plotted on the map along with mapping of specific yields to generate high yields.
Various farming details like crop variety, seasons, soil nutrition, pest management, seed treatment, sowing/planting details, and irrigation data are present for better resource management.
This feature is enabled with standard agricultural practice enabled through FPOs and Agri-experts. Farmers get a text message alerting them about their various schedules relating to crop management, pest, fertilizers, manure and irrigation. Input cost and quantity are also captured to assess and increase profitability.
Planning of farming activities requires data in real-time, i.e. data relating to sourcing, demand and trends in the market, pest threats, weather changes, crop inputs and consumption. We help link players in the supply chain catering sharing of real-time information to help mitigate risk and losses.
It’s a one-stop page for all farming activities relating to yield, produce, costs, quality, certificates and compliance. It helps derive insight into production activity and generate decisions.
Handling practices should be followed after post-harvest. It is critical to maintain the quality of fruits and vegetables as they are easily prone to contamination. Batch management, inventory management, invoicing, transparency and accountability through the entirety of the supply chain are verified through QR Codes
Conclusion
Technological advancements have made it easier for farm managers to carefully manage farming activities and post-harvest processes. We have come a far way, from conventional farm management to having an enormous database on every minute aspect of the supply chain to deliver profitable results with minimizing substantial losses.
India along with its Farm Management System is ready to conquer the fruits and vegetables export market head-on.
VP of Growth and Strategy of TraceX Technologies. An engineer turned entrepreneur and a Traceability expert.
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