Farmers normally look up to the clouds that bring rain. Now, a few have begun looking to crowdfunding to cultivate their land, thanks to an initiative by young engineering graduates Sharat Patil, 24, and Nitin Bhat, 23. They have launched fundmycrop, a platform to support farmers with financial and technical assistance, besides creating a market for the products.
The company started earlier this year has built a network of farmers to cultivate vegetables. The idea is to raise funds from the public, assuring them returns on their investment, grow crops, market it, and make a profit. To begin with, Mr. Sharat and Mr. Nitin raised funds from friends and relatives to grow vegetables in the farms and returned the investors with a minimum of 5% in four months.
Lavanya and Nagachandra, a couple at Holehundi on Mysuru-H.D.Kote Road, have cultivated bitter gourd on a two-acre plot with investment from fundmycrop. “So far, the investment has been around ₹70,000. We have not invested anything on bitter gourd cultivation. We are hoping to get at least ₹1 lakh in return,” said Ms. Lavanya.
The company has tied up with popular brands of vegetable sellers to market their produces. The profit is shared between the farmer and the company in the ratio of 60:40. The company shares its earning with the investors.
“We started with vegetables because they are short-term crops. Investors would be happy if they get early returns. Gradually, we will take up other crops. Now, we are planning to fund a polyhouse near Dharwad,” said Mr. Sharat. He has been an entrepreneur from his college days. He has the support of his father P.C. Patil, a retired banker and postgraduate in agricultural science.
The two friends joined hands to start fundmycrop with an initial investment of about ₹3 lakh. “We worked hard to develop this concept. We travelled across the State and interacted with hundreds of farmers and experts before launching this. Right now, we are depending on another company – microgram – to handle crowdfunding,” he said.
The initiative has received the government’s support as well. It has been selected for the National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations Entrepreneurs-in-Residence programme, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology. It has been selected to get financial support under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation as well.
Hemanth Kumar, one of the first few farmers to join the network and grow vegetables in his farm near Hampapura in Mysuru district, said the objective of the company was beneficial to the farming community.
