AGRITEK
- By PRANSH GUPTA
ABOUT -
By creating AGRITEK, our main aim is to solve the problem related to the handling of agricultural waste, production of biofuels, thereby, assisting farmers in sustainable agriculture.
Through our easy to use App/Website, we collect information such as the amount and types of agricultural waste produced at different farms to be updated on our app either by farmers or by our representatives/salesperson visiting preregistered farms, after which we buy that waste from farmers which not only help them with the problem of its disposal which leads to environmental pollution (caused by burning of waste paddy fields) but in turn help them supplement their income.
The next step is to take all this collected waste to our decomposition plants (mainly opening centers in Haryana and Punjab) where it is sorted and converted into biofuels primarily bio-diesel. Bio-diesel is an eco-friendly, renewable, alternative source of energy compared to the limited resources of fossil fuels. It is produced by transesterification of edible and non-edible oils obtained from a wide range of plants and other selected agricultural biomass. In fact, bio-diesel has helped several countries in reducing their dependence on foreign oil reserves as it is domestically produced and can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modification to the engine or the fuel system.
Most of the biodiesel produced is then sold back to the farmers at a cheaper price, thus, saving the environment.
Market Demand –
Because of the never-ending production of agricultural waste and increasing demand for sustainable energy fuels/resources along with the continuous problem of waste management, our app will quickly gather users as there are only a few other companies like ours who care for our countries farmers and want to ease their difficulties and protect our endangered environment any way capable.
Relevant Products in the market –
Considering there are already few other companies with the similar aim but what makes us unique is -
· We not only provide fuel to the farmers but also our representatives will go from farms to farms holding meetings, campaigns, and simple experiments not just to explain its usefulness but to also teach them how to use it efficiently.
· Through our easy to use graphical app, farmers can contact our representatives 24/7 to get tips regarding sustainable agriculture and can also attend online classes where our representatives will teach them how to manage farms, leading trends in the agro world, and what kind of instruments or goods to buy for better or organic production.
· On other companies’ websites, people have to pay a large amount of money to get such information but we are providing it free of cost with an added advantage of cheaper renewable and clean-burning fuel.
· Also, all our products or content (fuel, app, etc) are made after thorough research with help from various international journals by engineering students of Bennett University having a farming background.
Target Customers –
We aim to target not just large scale farmers but also small scale ones who indeed need more help. To start with, farmers will have to contact us either through our website, email, or phone no. and our experts will visit their farms within 48 hours setting up their accounts, implementing necessary changes in their farms, or suggesting them the use of certain standards of products/services and we are good to go.
Now periodically after every few weeks, our personnals will visit their farms collect the waste, and assist them in their methods of agriculture.
Required Knowledge or Expertise –
The things which were required while opening our start-up are :
· Research-
A lot of research was required on our part before stepping into such a significant, widespread, and competitive agricultural industry in India which is still in its primitive stage in various regions considering the amount of technological development in the world. Therefore we started by contacting various agricultural researchers and Indian agricultural associations such as The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and a few other environmental organisations and gathered information such as farming methods, cropping patterns, waste disposal, etc. We even visited various farmers around the country to get an even better perspective of the problem.
· Hardware –
Initially, it’s a small scale industry and would require –
For Bio-diesel :
Two plots of lands at different locations ( 7500 sq. m. =1.85 acres ) for setting up a production plant, major raw material except agro-waste include non-edible oil such as Jatropha Oil and methanol, Licenses such as — Trade, Factory, Explosive and Pollution control board clearance and human resources.
For AGRITEK App and Website :
The only hardware required is computer systems and human resources of various backgrounds such as IT, Management, Agriculture, Research, etc. On the other hand, the user of our product may use a PC, smartphone, tablet, etc.
· Software –
For Bio-diesel a good understanding of agricultural practices, biotechnology, and marketing/management principles is required whereas, for AGRITEK app and website development, a good knowledge of computer languages such as Python, C++, HTML, and Java along with App and Web Development software’s such as App Studio is required.
Estimated Budget –
For the starting phase of our project, the estimated budget has been described below –
- Total Project Cost in Rupees -
Capacity (Liters per day) — 10,000
Type — Continuous
Without Distillation — 4.33 Crores
With Distillation — 4.75 Crores
Land (in sq. m) — 7,500
2. For purchasing a domain name: $100/year.
3. For publishing app on Google Play Store: $25 (One Time Pay).
4. Forming of a partnership deed: $10 (One Time Pay).
5. CTC of human resources.
Marketing Plan –
According to me the biggest problem that a startup faces (no matter how good the idea behind it be) is how to sell the product to the target audience hence its marketing.
Now as the majority of our target audience comprises of rural farmers (many among those are illiterate) we decided that along with conventional methods of marketing (by TV, radio, newspaper, advertisements, and holdings) we will also opt for atypical methods such as holding carnivals, educating and gathering the support of village Panchayat, etc. as well as relatively modern approach too like going to agro camps and exhibitions, doing demonstrations and even providing free services in the starting (like a trial pack).
Therefore targeting every class and region of the agricultural industry looking for an in.
Risk Analysis –
Like any other startup, there are huge risks while opening ours (AGRITEK) too. Primarily being whether it would be welcomed by rural farmers or not if they would be ready to change their ways of farming or not etc. But due to the increasing awareness and the high amount of profit, this project carries, I think farmers will come around sooner or later. It will all depend on how effectively we do marketing of our product coupled with time to time regular services.
Along with this, there might also come problems of proper storage and usage of biodiesel in cold regions as it tends to gel in extremely cold conditions depending on the type of oil or fat from which it is made, therefore suitable ingredients must be used for the production of biodiesel in colder regions of the world.
Timeline –
Initially, we are planning to start with the states of Haryana and Punjab but we tend to cover the entire India in the long run. Normally, an up and running site takes about 6 months for its development. In addition, preparation of online lectures or classes, as well as advertising/marketing of the product, will consume considerable time.
Hoping for the smooth running of all operations within 1 year of launch.
