<\/p>\n
I was interested in agriculture at a very young age. As a kid, I’d learn from my parents and helped them around the field as much as I could. We didn’t have much to begin with\u200a-\u200aa small piece of land and a herd of cows. I’d help feed the cows and take care of them while my parents were busy in the field. I knew that one day, I will take over from my parents, look after the farm and continue the legacy.<\/p>\n
After I completed my 10th standard education, I decided to leave school and work full-time with my parents. We grew beans and tomatoes and supplied to Hosur and Kolar markets, which fetched us a fair amount.<\/p>\n
Our field had no water source, so we had to borrow from other farmers to keep our produce alive. We toiled for three years and finally constructed a borewell in our land. This was my first step towards independence and it inspired me to set new goals for the business.<\/p>\n
I expanded our land by buying from neighbouring farmers. We only had 5 Gunthas of land in the beginning, now we have 5 acres. We employ 5 daily labourers and sometimes 15 on a busy day. My wife and I work on the field every day. My parents still help me out like I did when I was younger. The entire family comes together and tends to our farm.<\/p>\n
At one point in time, the biggest burden for me was transporting the produce to the Bangalore market. Normally, I would take the bus that leaves at 12 pm from my hometown which is in Kodihalli and this usually takes 3 hours to reach the market. This was very difficult for me as well because in case I missed the 12 o’clock bus, the next bus to Bangalore was only till 4 pm, which means the entire day would have been wasted. On any day it was almost impossible to make it back home before 10 pm. I would be so exhausted the next morning that I’d take the day off, just to rest. Moreover, vendors refused to pay more than a week later, sometimes it would even take a month to receive my payment.<\/p>\n
I then came across Ninjacart which was 4 years ago, and after that, I have never faced any of these problems ever again. The Collection Centre team keeps me informed of the produce required for the day and I send exactly the amount required. On most days I finish all my work at the Collection Centre within 2 hours. I also get paid on the same day for which I am very grateful to Ninjacart. With all this time saved, I am able to spend more quality time with my family and also grow a variety of other vegetables in my fields.<\/p>\n
I grow cucumbers, bajji chillies, bottle gourds, beans, and a few other vegetables on my farm. With my hard-earned money, I built a nice house for my family, got married, and have two children. My sons are studying in a good English medium school and when they grow up maybe they’ll join the family business as I did, or they’ll study and become successful on their own\u200a-\u200awe’ll just have to wait and see.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Narrated by Dilip Papanna,<\/strong> Farmer at Kodihalli<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On most days I finish all my work at the Collection Centre within 2 hours. With all this time saved, I am able to spend more quality time with my family and also grow a variety of other vegetables in my fields.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_applaud_exclude":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[125,56],"tags":[28,14,15,38,39,19],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farmer-stories","category-patrons","tag-agriculture","tag-farmers","tag-ninjacart","tag-people","tag-stories","tag-supply-chain"],"yoast_head":"\n