Farmer Ashok Gade from Maharashtra’s Jalgaon has innovated and patented his banana biscuits, using 50 different farmers and incomes triple the benefit.
Situated at the northern fringe of the Deccan Plateau, Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district is wealthy in volcanic soil and is a significant industry centre for cotton and bananas. Steadily tagged because the Banana Town of India, Jalgaon produces 3.4 million tonnes of bananas and accounts for 70 p.c of Maharashtra’s banana manufacturing and greater than 11 p.c of that of India.
In spite of those noteworthy statistics, banana cultivation stays an unprofitable industry for a lot of farmers.
“On every occasion we attempted promoting our produce, we at all times incurred losses. We ceaselessly questioned why banana farming isn’t winning. The one explanation why shall we bring to mind used to be its shelf lifestyles,” Ashok Gade (65) tells The Higher India.
“As soon as sown, we will be able to harvest bananas most effective after a yr. The harvesting length is ready 28 days. It prices us about Rs 150 to supply one jhaad [roughly 15 kg bunch] of bananas while we earn most effective Rs 1,000 for a quintal [100 kg] of the produce — virtually the similar as the price of cultivation. We’ve got even bought bananas for Rs 1.25 in line with kg. Because the area produces bananas in bulk, we get low costs amid massive provide. The marketplace costs additionally stay fluctuating,” he provides.
The farmer additionally issues out that since bananas are a perishable commodity, they can’t inventory the produce. “Farmers wish to promote bananas once imaginable. And if the produce begins ripening, we’re pressured to promote at throwaway costs. Steadily we watch our hard-grown produce rot within the box,” says Ashok.
So, as a substitute of marketing banana culmination without delay within the risky marketplace, Ashok and his spouse Kusum got here up with an concept to extend the shelf lifetime of the produce by way of processing the banana culmination into attainable value-added merchandise. As of late, the couple manufactures banana merchandise like banana chips, jam, sweets, papad, chivda (flattened banana), and laddu.
Curiously, the couple has additionally innovated biscuits out of bananas. And in April this yr, the Central Govt granted them a patent for his or her banana biscuits.
Hand over regulation to grow to be a farmer
Born into an agricultural circle of relatives in Yawal taluka, Ashok studied regulation in Jalgaon. After graduating with an LLB, he practised regulation for approximately 5 years. Alternatively, he needed to hand over his follow in 1990 after his father passed on to the great beyond.
“For generations, we now have been cultivating bananas. After my father’s loss of life, all the duty of managing the farm found out me. I needed to hand over regulation regardless of my pastime in it,” says Ashok, who owns an agricultural land of 12.5 acres.
Amid prime enter prices and coffee profitability, the innovative farmer made up our minds to procedure bananas into value-added merchandise like banana flour, jam, and laddus. “I didn’t be informed this system from anyplace, so we persisted to experiment with bananas. Sooner or later, all over the processing, we innovated biscuits out of bananas. We used banana, ghee, and sugar to make those biscuits,” says the 65-year-old with out revealing their secret processing manner!
For the closing 3 years, Ashok and his spouse were production and promoting those banana biscuits in the community. Just lately, they won a patent from the Central Govt for a similar. This patent permits them the correct to prevent others from copying their invention with out their permission.
“We would have liked to stay our invention secured as it’s our baudhik sampada (highbrow belongings). Once we earned the patent, the call for for our product greater and we additionally earned reputation,” he says.
How value-addition is helping farmers
Priced at Rs 400–500 in line with kg within the wholesale and retail marketplace respectively, those banana biscuits have fetched the couple as much as 4 occasions earnings.
As of late, the couple sells between 60 and 100 kg of banana biscuits in per week and earns an annual earnings of Rs 25 lakh via on-line marketplaces like Fb and offline exhibitions.
Their banana biscuits have discovered patrons no longer most effective in Maharashtra but in addition in West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, and Delhi. “This patent will even let us extend our marketplace to different nations as neatly,” says Ashok.
Certainly one of their common consumers, Nilimi Divakar tells The Higher India, “The biscuits that we get available in the market include maida (subtle wheat flour) which isn’t excellent for well being. We would have liked to modify to fitter choices. That’s once we discovered about those banana biscuits. As bananas are wealthy in calcium, I be offering those biscuits to my youngsters. Rather then the well being advantages, those biscuits also are excellent in style.”
Rather then the emerging call for because of the patent, Ashok is satisfied to were ready to learn farmers like him. “We’re getting extra orders and with the intention to satisfy the call for, I’ve collaborated with 50 different banana farmers within the village,” he provides.
The couple has additionally established a producing unit ‘Sankalp Enterprises’ unfold throughout a space of one,000 sq ft. “We bought equipment from Indore and Kolhapur and invested about Rs 30 to 40 lakhs in putting in the unit. As a result of the emerging call for, we now have totally converted to processing the bananas. We don’t promote uncooked bananas anymore,” smiles Ashok.
Supply:
How Jalgaon, ‘Banana Town of India’, is rapid turning into the ‘Banana Republic’: Printed by way of Monetary Specific on 18 June 2018.
Edited by way of Pranita Bhat. All pictures: Ashok Gade.