Farmpal mitigating farmers’ distress through integrated supply approach

With traders and buyers dominating the mandi ecosystem, farmers do not have the liberty to set their own price for their crops. Thus, in stark contrast to the high transport cost and the toil they have to endure, the revenue they earn is meagre. Seeking to resolve this decades-old problem, tech start-up Farmpal, by leveraging technology, has adopted an integrated supply chain approach. The company has established a connection with around 1000 farmers and breaking the tradition of farmers selling their yields through intermediaries at mandis, it offers sales price which is 15 – 30 percent more than what farmers usually receive. It directly connects farmers with end-consumers such as local kiranas, supermarkets, hotels and restaurants where vegetables and crops are needed every day in bulk.

To manage the supply chain, Farmpal has created an ERP solution-backed mobile application that connects the company to both farmers and the end-consumers. Puneet Sethi and Karan Hon, co-founders of Farmpal said that the app enables them to manage their inventory, keep track of order cycles and supply-demand forecast and analyses other functional areas.  The payment is usually done online and offline in few special cases.  Puneet Sethi and Karan Hon, co-founders of Farmpal said that the app enables them to manage their inventory, keep track of order cycles and supply-demand forecast and analyses other functional areas. Payment is usually done online and in few special cases, cash on delivery.

By creating a post-harvest supply chain, farmers will have better accessibility to alternate markets other than mandis. With this, the inefficiencies they usually go through will be solved, with all stakeholders benefitted.

With its idea launched in 2017 and operations commenced in 2018, today, Farmpal has its collection centres across five locations in Maharashtra and two distribution centres in Pune. From local kiranas and retail stores to big supermarkets like Big Bazaar, Star Bazar and premium brands in the hospitality sector, Farmpal has a strong clientele base across India. To further expand its reach, it has partnered with Dunzo and Swiggy as well.