BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

BIMVillageImmersionProgram2019–CaseStudy–CarrotsintheNilgiris

-Sudharsan.S

ThiscasestudyiswrittenbasedontheexperiencesoftheauthorandateamofstudentsduringtheBIMVillageImmersionProgramvisitsonAugust,2019.Theauthorthanksallthemembersinvolvedintheprogramforthiscasestudy.

CARROTSINTHENILGIRIS:Carrot is aBritishbequest toUdhagamandalam (Ooty) fromsome150years ago.Carrots canbegrownthroughout the year at an elevation above1500 metres with assured irrigation. The elevation ofUdhagamandalamis2240metresandthereissufficientwateravailable–makingitafavouriteandviablecropthatiswidelygrownbythefarmersthere.

HOWMUCHCARROTISPRODUCEDINOOTY?The Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department estimates that in 2016-17, carrot was cultivated on 2,554.96hectares of land in the Nilgiris district. The total production of carrot in the Nilgiris in 2016-17 was58749.29tonnes.Onanaverage,theproductivityofcarrotwas22.93tonnes/hectare.

HOWLONGDOESCARROTTAKETOGROW?100-120days

(Source:http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/horticulture/horti_vegetables_carrot.html)

HOWMUCHISAKILOOFCARROTSOLDFOR?TheaveragepriceforonekiloofCarrotis35.75Rupees(BasedonpricedatafromOotyUzhavarSandhai–averagefor2016and2017)

Picture–PriceDataforaKilogramofCarrotandGarlic(FromtheOotyUzhavarSandhai)

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

CARROTGROWINGVILLAGESINNILGIRIS:Wevisitedcarrotgrowersinthefollowingvillagesinthe‘Nanjanad’and‘Adikaratti’taluks-

1. M-Palada2. Thambatti3. Kollimalai4. Kappathorai

Wehadadministered2surveystothevillagers inthevillagesthatwe’dvisited.Simplerandomsamplingmethodologywasemployedinadministeringthesesurveys.Afirstsurveywastocreateabaselinedataforthevillagesandasecondsurveythatwasfocussedonunderstandingthecarrotgrowersandtheirbusinessinthesevillages.Kindlyfindthesummaryofthedatacollectedfromthesecondsurveyhere-

� CarrotFarmerSurvey1. Seasonality of Carrot Production: The carrot yield is obtained 4months after sowing which is

categorizedasasinglecycle.Theseasonalityofcarrotproductionismajorly3cyclesinMPalada,KollimalaiandThambatti.Kappathoraiontheotherhand,has4cyclecarrotseasons.ThisisduetothefactthefarmersinKappathoraipredominantlyusethe90-dayvarietyofcarrotseeds.

2. Carrot yield across seasons: Carrot yield varies from best to poor across the seasons. Uponsurveyingcarrotfarmers,itwasfoundthatthebestyieldwasobtainedduringthesummerseason(i.e.) from January to April. The worst yield was obtained during the rainy season (i.e.) fromSeptembertoDecember.TheregularyieldwasobtainedduringMaytoAugust.Thiswasfoundtobecommonforallthe4villages.

3. InputCostinvolvedincarrotproduction:Seeds,Manure(Natural),Fertilizers,Pesticideswerethecommon input costs involved in carrot production in M Palada, Kollimalai and Thambatti.Kappathoraihadweedicidespraysandleaseofland(ifthelandisnotownedbythefarmerhimself)asadditionstotheabovecosts.

4. VariationofCarrotprice since lastyear: Thambattihad thehighest sellingprice last year,atRs.100/kg,whileRs.60/kgisthemaximumsellingpriceforthisyear.Thambatti’slowestsellingpricewasatRs.20/kglastyearandisatRs.15/kgforthecurrentyear.KollimalairecordedasellingpriceofRs.70/kglastyearandissellingatapriceofRs.60/kgthisyear.MPaladaandKappathoraihadasellingpriceofRs.60/kgandRs.80/kglastyearandarecurrentlybeingsoldatRs.40/kg.

5. Mappingofthesupplychain:Allthefourvillageshadasimilarframeworkofsupplychaininvolvedwith respect to carrot production. The chain starts at Farmers who sell their produce toMiddlemen.Thesemiddlemencollecttheproduceandtakethemtotheauctionwhereitissoldtobuyers.Thebuyerswhobuythecarrots,thensell ittovariousshops inandacrossthestate.Thesupplychainfinallyconcludeswhentheshopssellthecarrotstothecustomers.

6. Iscroprotationperformed:Thambatti,MPaladaandKappathoraihadapositiveresponsetocroprotation.Matterof fact, it isapreferredactivityamongthe farmers in thesevillages.Thereasonbehindthiswouldbethefactthatcroprotationhelpsimprovesoilfertility.BeetrootandPotatoaresome of the common crops used for crop rotation. On the other hand, crop rotation was notmajorly performed in kollimalai and carrot is the only crop that is grown by farmers for all the3cyclesinthisvillage.

7. Is Intercropping done: Upon surveying, all the four villages had a strictly negative answer forintercropping. The insecticides/weedicidesused areof selectivenature andhence can affect theothercropwhenintercroppingisdone.

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

8. Are Government subsidies available for seeds: All the four villages conveyed that governmentsubsidieswereavailablefortheseeds,andtheyamountedto50%.

9. Diseasesthataffectcarrotproduction:Nematodesisthemostwidespreaddiseasethatoccurs invegetable farms across The Nilgiris. Carrot farms in Kollimalai, M Palada and Kappathorai werepredominantly affected by nematodes. Farms in Thambatti, had other diseases like Powderymildewfungusandleafspotinadditiontonematodes.

10. Shelflifeofcarrotpost-harvest:Theshelf lifeofcarrotsacrossTheNilgiris is longercomparedtootherplaces inTamilnaduandthis ismainlyduethe lowtemperaturethatexiststhere.Theshelflife of the carrots produced from the four villages more or less were the same with minorvariations.CarrotsfromKappathoraihadthemaximumshelflifeastheylasted12dayspost-harvestwhile those fromM Palada had a shelf life of 5days which was observed to be the minimum.CarrotsfromThambattiandKollimalaihadashelflifeof10daysand7daysrespectively.

11. Approximateharvestperhectare:Theharvestperhectareremainedalmostsimilarinallthefourvillages.Thambatti,KollimalaiandMPaladahadaharvestof30tonneswhereasKappathoraihadaharvestof40tonnes.

12. Popularbrandsofseedswhicharepreferred:ZuberaF1(120days),Romance(90days),Champion(120days),Nantindo(120days)werethepopularbrandsofseedsthatwerepreferredbyfarmersofthefourvillages.

13. Cost involved in washing and transportation of carrots: Carrots post-harvest are subjected towashing before transporting it to the auction place. The washing is donemostly using a carrotwashermachine. The cost involved in thewashing and transportation of carrots are handled byfarmers themselves inThambattiandKappathorai.However, inkollimalaiandMPalada, it is themiddlemen/buyerswhohandlethetransportationandwashingcosts.

14. Majorissuesincarrotproduction:Themajorissuesincarrotproductionacrossthe4villageswereheavyrains,carrotdiseasesandsoilquality.

15. Anyvalueadditiontocarrothasbeendoneinyourvillage:Novalueadditiontocarrothasbeendoneinthepastinallthe4villages.

16. Handling of carrots that get wasted: Farmers in Thambatti, Kappathorai andM Palada sell thewastedcarrotsatwhateverpriceitfetchesevenif itmeansincurringaloss.FarmersinKollimalaiconvertthewastedcarrotsintomanureanduseitfortheenrichingthesoil.

17. Howisthe involvementofmiddlemenseen:Carrot farmersofall thefourvillagespreferredtheinvolvementofmiddlemeninsellingtheirproducewhencomparedwithdirectsellingastheyfeelthatthereisaguaranteedreturnofmoneywhensoldthroughmiddlemen.However,directsellingdoesoccurminimallyinallthe4villages.

Hereisanindicativeprofileofatypicalcarrotgrower(basedontheinteractionwehadwithcarrotgrowersfromtheabovementionedvillagers)–

1. Landholding–5to9acres(Onanaverage)2. No.ofworkersemployed–5to20(acrossdifferentstages)3. YieldofCarrotperacre–9283Kg(9.28tonnes)4. ThetotalinputcostperacreisRs.1,66,200/-5. ThetotalprofitperacreisRs.1,65,667/-6. ThetotalprofitperkgofcarrotisRs.17.84/-7. Atpresent,manycarrotgrowersselltheirproducetotheMandi.Novalueadditionofanysortis

done.

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

Table–CostsvsBenefitforCarrotCultivation(Source:DatafromNilgirisHorticultureOffice)

Carrots-CostvsBenefitofCultivationforoneacreActivity CostPreparatoryCultivation Ploughing/Forking 7,200Breakingofclodsandlevelling 2,200Cleaning 1,000Making/Raisingbeds 5,000

Total 15,400SeedsandSowing CostofFYM12MT 26,000CostofSeeds2KgxRs.30000spacing 60,000Liningandsowing 1,800CostofNo.4,500KGapplication 10,000

Total 97,800AfterCultivation WeedingandThining 12,000

Total 12,000PlantProtection ApplicationofM45-5Kgs 2,500Otherplantprotection 3,200

Total 6,000Irrigation Irrigation 10,000

Total 10,000Harvesting Harvesting 10,000Grading&transporting 15,000

Total 25,000TotalCostofCultivationforoneacre 1,66,200

Totalyieldperacre(kg) 9,283TotalRevenueperacre(at35.75rupeesperkg) 3,31,867

Totalprofitperacre 1,65,667

WHAT COMMON PROBLEMS DO CARROT GROWERS FACE IN CARROT CULTIVATIONACTIVITY?From our interactions with the Carrot growers and from the official data from Uzhavar Sandhai, weobservethatinthelastyear(2017),thepricevariedfromaminimumofRs.13perKgtoamaximumofRs.60perKg.Thesevagaries inprice is themajorproblemforgrowers. Inaddition, thecarrotcrophastheproblemof‘branching’.Suchcarrotswithbranchesfetchevenlesserratesinthemarket.Attimes,over/undergrowncarrotsarejustwasted(thrownaway).

Beingseasonal,aswellasperishableduetohighmoisturecontent,carrotsfarmingisariskyaffair.

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

Picture–BranchedandDeformedCarrotsbeingwasted

CARROTCUBESANDFLAKES:Topreserve thecarrotsoveraperiodof long time foruseduringoff-seasons,dehydration isoneof themostimportantmethods,becauseitlowersthecostofpackaging,storageandtransportationbyreducingboth the weight and volume of the final product. The apparatus used is also simple. On an average,dehydratedcarrots sellbetweenRs.660/-perkg toRs.800/-perKg (data taken fromthe topsellers inAmazon).

Picture–DehydratedCarrots

WHATOTHERPRODUCTSCANBEMADEFROMCARROTS?1. CarrotToffees,2. CarrotMilk,3. CarrotPickle,4. CarrotPowder,5. CarrotCapsules.

QUESTIONS:

1. Usingthedatainthecaseandotherrelevantsecondarydata,comeupwithasustainablesolutiontohelpimprovethelivelihoodofthecarrotfarmersintheNilgiris.

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

2. Createanenterpriseplanforthesolutionthatyoupropose.Takenecessaryassumptionswhereverneeded.

ANNEXURE-1PROCESSFLOWCHART:

NOTE:Thereisastepbeforedehydrationcalled‘Blanching’whichinvolvesdippingthecarrotcubesinhotwaterfor4minutes.Thisprocesskillstheenzymesandhelpsretainthecolourofthecarrot.Thisstepisskippable.

RawCarrots CarrotWasher&Peeler

CarrotSlicer&CubeMaker

Dehydrator DehydratedCarrotCubes

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

ANNEXURE-21. Semi-automaticCarrotwasher&peeler:Thismachinetakesrawcarrotsastheinput(aftercutting

thecarrotstem).Ithasbrushrollersandalowpressurewaterjet.Therollingactionofthebrushescombinedwiththewaterbeingpouredonthevegetablescleansthem.Thedirtywatercomesoutofthemachineviaanoutlet.Thecapacityofthemachineis500Kgsofcarrotperhour.

2. DewateringMachine:Thismachine removes theexcesswater from theearliermachines. This is

doneusingahigh speed rotoranda centrifuge.Thecubesareput intoa ‘washingmachine’ likedrumwithholes inthesides.Thedrumrevolvesatahighspeed–duetowhichwaterseparatesfrom the carrot andescapes thedrum through theholes. Thiswater is thenpumpedoutof themachine.

3. Carrot Cubes CuttingMachine: This machine has a rolling blade and a high power motor. The

washedandpeeledcarrotsareputinsidethismachinewhichslicesthemintocubes.Dependingonthe final usage,we can use either cube cuttingmachine or coin cuttingmachine (for cubes andchipsrespectively).

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

4. Electric TrayDryer: This is the final andmost importantmachine in theentireprocess. The tray

dryerhasadehydrationchamber(thatislinedwithgalvanizediron)andanelectricheater(madeofstainlesssteel)andpowerfulfansthatsupplieshotair intothedehydrationchamber.Thishotaircirculatesoveraseriesofshelves/traysmadeof‘SS304–Foodgradestainlesssteel’.Theactualcarrotcubesareplacedonthistray.Themachinehascontrolsfortimeandtemperatureofthehotairbeingcirculated.

5. Continuous Band Sealer - Band sealers are suitable for sealing individual pouches/bags

automatically. The machine has a variable temperature controller and speed control, to suitdifferentgradesofplasticmaterialsThree typesofmodelsareavailableHorizontal type,Verticaltypewithfootstandtype.OtherspecialmodelsincludeNitrogenfillingattachment,vacuumoption,Printingattachment,andforheavybagssealing

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

ANNEXURE-3

No-275/19/09/18Date-19/09/18

GST:33ASMPR2976C1ZJ

To.

Mr.SudharsanSezhianSudharsens90@gmail.com+919445728293.

DearSir,

Regardingthe500kgperhourcarrotprocessingplantwehavegivenbelowourbestsolution.

SL DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT RATE VALUE(Rs)

1

Electric Tray Dryer.

Electrictraysdryermachinestandardmodel.

Technical specification. Dryersize-(5x8x4.5)’HxWxB.

DryingArea- 600square foot.

Capacity- 500 Kg

Totalnooftrays-60Nos.

No of wire mesh trays –60 Nos.Traysize-2”x4”Heaters-10kwSS.

Dryer/Tray-Materials-MS/GI/SS304meshtray,

Workingtemperature-30-200C.

Structure-Rectangular,

Power-3phase,

Fans-02Nos,

Exhaustmotor-01nos

Controlsystem-Digitalelectricwithtimer,Totalpower-13kw.

Workingpower-13kw*.

Insulation-50mmGlasswool.

1

No

5,42,000.00

5,42,000.00

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

2.

3.

4.

Semi-automatic carrot washing and peeler.

Type–wettype.

Capacity-500kgsperhour.

Power-1.5kw.

Carrotcubes cutting machine

Capacity-500kgs/hour,

Power-2HP3phase,

Dewatering machine.

Capacity-250kgsperhour.

Power-1.5kw.

Material–Stainlesssteel.

CGST@09%

SGST@09%

1

1

2

No

No

No

3,75,000.00

2,30,000.00

1,15,000.00

3,75,000.00

2,30,000.00

3,30,000.00

1,32,930.00

1,32,930.00

17,42,860.00

Transportationcharges 25,000.00

Installationcharges 25,000.00

TOTAL 17,92,860.00

BIMVIPCaseStudy2019

****

• Laborsrequiredtoprocess–5persons• Arearequired–400sqft

Terms and conditions.

! Deliveryfiveweeksfromdateofconfirmation.! 50%Advancewithpurchaseorderrestbeforedelivery.

OurBankDetails.

INFINITYENGINEERING.

200000561120.

ESFB0001083.

EQUITASSMALLFINNCEBANK.AMBURBRANCH.

CURRENTACCOUNT

For:INFINITYENGINEERINGEr.RajAgnesh.MProprietor.

#99- SOMALAPURAM, AMBUR- +91-9944332788, email-infinityengineeringambur@gmail.com