Agriculture and farming are one of the oldest and dying professions in the World. But one of the major problems faced in farming is that it is an unorganized activity. Most of the farmers are small and economically unstable as the cost of cultivation has been rising due to an increase in agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, water, and electricity. Presently, the middlemen exploit the farmers which lead to higher debts and unreasonable interest rates.
Baramati, a medium-sized town in Maharashtra has a well-irrigated land because of the Nira Left Canal Irrigation from Veer Dam. The town is known for its agricultural potential. Despite this, farmers of the area face a lot of concerns that include fighting drought, indebtedness, and falling crop prices.
Another major problem they face is the erratic climatic patterns. The increase in global temperatures along with the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases increases crop failure, loss in crop productivity, damages to standing crops and changing crop patterns.
To help the farmers in Baramati, The Phoenix group in Dubai has started a project named ‘Project Deccan’.
Dubai-based agriculture and food company Phoenix Group is engaged in production, procurement, processing, wholesale and distribution of fresh produce through an integrated supply chain. The business is carried out through three divisions:
Phoenix Agrifood,
Phoenix Distribution and
Phoenix Resources
They are known for their business in rice, Basmati Rice, Fresh produce, Edible Nuts, Grains, and Pulses and Oilseeds. Their fresh produce business allows them to leverage their geographic presence and existing supply chain infrastructure. They have distribution capabilities that allow them to deliver these products to markets across the Middle East, Australia, Europe, and India.
The Phoenix Group has launched Project Deccan where they have partnered with contract farmers in Baramati to help them grow the best exportable quality of baby corn, chili, butternut, and other vegetables. The group then procures the produce and exports them.
Project Deccan was brought forth due to the farmers not getting good value for the supply sold in the local markets and even the quality of the produce that was being sold was also poor. Through the Project, the group personally go to the farmers, provide them with high-quality seeds and then their field executive go to the farm to capture the data on their mobile app.
These field executives also periodically visit the farmers to give them advice on seeds, nutrition, spraying, and other agriculture-related operations which help in improving the quality. The ready produce is then sent to a warehouse in Baramati where it is cleaned, grazed and packed before exporting. This Project has helped farmers get a consistent revenue with year-round production.
Project Deccan is the smaller holder farmers program of 25000 in India for fresh fruits and vegetables along with storage and processing facilities for IQF and Frozen products. They have been working with them for almost two years.
The Phoenix Group has implemented the latest in agri-tech capabilities which have enabled them to deliver unparalleled yields and freshness through innovative strategic cold-chain and distribution assets.
To ensure that Project Deccan goes on uninterrupted, the Phoenix Group has partnered with a highly-scalable, customizable and future-ready software solution called FarmERP which is the most preferred agribusiness ERP platform globally. The reason for this preference is because of the platform’s many features like yield estimation, smart crop advisory, crop scouting solutions, Geo-mapping, finance modules, and even crop-wise financial reports.
FarmERP has provided its entire platform to the Phoenix Group. The data captured through the software is collected and provided to the group which is then analyzed and managed over their platform.
This helps Project Deccan keep a check on multiple farms and the produce. It helps to monitor these aspects because if Project Deccan needs to export the fresh produce then it is necessary to plan accordingly every 15 days. FarmERP assists in planning, communicating with the farmers, analysis and yield estimation. Also, they provide satellite imagery for yield estimation.
