Prakash

I actually deal in seeds. This market has been here for a long time. There are many shops here, and all the nearby villages come here to buy seeds. There is a market here called Mandi, where farmers bring their crops to sell and then buy seeds from us.

Yes, I chose this location because it is near the market, and there is potential in this business. I mean, I saw some potential, that's why I opened this shop.

No, we don’t do anything, we just bring the fertilizers that the farmers need and we give it to them. Yes, medico and all, we check the disease and give them the medicine accordingly.

All farmers who live nearby bring all of their harvest here to sell it. They know that this shop is here, which is why. The farmers from nearby villages also bring their harvest here. Additionally, they buy stuff from here. There are other shops as well, it's not like there are only a few shops now.

It has been 10 to 12 years now in this business. I tried two or three other businesses before this, but I live here, and the market is here, and I saw some potential here, that is why I opened this shop.

The thing is, I have been doing business since I was a kid. That is why I like business more and why I opened this business. Yes, my dad opened a Kirana shop, and I used to help him in that business. That is why I like businesses.

Transition from the Kirana store to this has been fine. I think this business is good because if we provide good medicines to the farmers and it benefits them, then I feel good. Yes, I feel happy, and my business depends on them. If they earn money, then I will also earn. Because this business relies on the farmers. If the market is down, then my business also goes down.

Yes, this is Bhandara Zilla, so earlier they used to grow paddy or grains, but now there is water. Now we have water, that is why people have started growing other things as well, I mean like vegetables and all. Farmers have started growing that. So, the season is like, earlier it was only paddy, but now because there are other vegetables, so you can say it lasts all year, the season, only for one or two months of summer, I mean April and May, the business is not that much during those months.

Yes, I focus on paddy because people grow paddy here. So, I have to focus on that only. Now people are growing rice here. After they harvest the rice, they will plant vegetables. When the season changes, I bring stuff accordingly. The thing is, after this paddy, they will start planting wheat and Chana, which we call Harbara.

Yes, I have to keep everything because some people grow grains in summer, and some people grow wheat, while others grow Chana. Some people only grow vegetables; they don't grow grains. And there are some who only grow grains, like people who don't have much time for farming. So, for grains, you don't have to pay as much attention. But if you grow vegetables, then you have to check on them every day. Yes, I need to keep pesticides because without pesticides, you won't be able to grow anything.

I mean, you may face some problems because you don't have experience in the beginning. Then, you have to ask around. I mean, you have to ask other shopkeepers or other people whom you know and who know about this field. You have to ask them. I mean, like, there are some medical representatives who work for some companies. You come to know them, so I can ask them what I should use for what disease. Earlier, when I had no experience, but now I don't need to ask anything because I know everything now. I know which medicine to use for what disease and all.

No, I don't tell the farmers what to use to protect the species. The thing is, they already know what to use. With grains, it depends on the weather conditions, whether it's heavy or light. So, we bring whatever they demand. Sometimes, some varieties do well and some don't, so we have to adjust accordingly. Ankur company's grains are performing very well in the market. No, there are no challenges, but sometimes we face problems like when a farmer is unable to grow a proper harvest. In such cases, we inform the company, and they solve the problem. If a particular variety is not good and doesn't grow or has stunted growth, we inform the company, and they send their people to check it. They also provide reimbursement in such cases.

The stock that we aren’t able to sell, then the company takes it back.

Yes, I will tell you, all the distributors are there, and the company sends the material to these distributors. There are big distributors like in Nagpur. They also have franchises here, I mean they have shops here, what do we call it? We call it a franchise only. So, the company sends the material to them, to the distributor or the wholesaler, and they send it to us. We don't deal with the company directly; we deal with the distributor. And that distributor delivers it to me here. No, I don't have to go anywhere.

Nothing, we provide good suggestions to the customers and give them medicines. I mean, we provide guidance and give them the correct medicines so that it doesn't harm them in any way. We work like that because if they are satisfied, then we are also satisfied.

No, it is the customer who is most important to me. If the customers keep coming to me, then I will have more business. But if there are no customers, then we give first preference to the customers only.

You see, customers don't belong to anyone; they go wherever they like. Whichever shop they trust, they go to that shop. So, it's not like the customers belong to me. Today, he will come to this shop, and tomorrow he will go to another shop.

We can say they are regular customers. If you take a customer, and I provide them with some medicines that result in a profit for them, then they will definitely come back to me. However, if it is not beneficial for them, why would they come back to me?

No, I am not sure if they are regular customers because sometimes the medicines are not effective. Sometimes the medicine doesn't work due to the environment. Additionally, there are many companies, so not all medicines from every company will provide 100 percent results. We have to choose which company's medicine is good.

No, they already do the quality check before sending it to us. For vegetables, if you are not able to grow anything, then they come to me with complaints. And then I tell the company, as I told you earlier.

For complaints, first, we provide them with proper bills and everything. So, if they are facing a major problem, such as issues with growth or anything else, we take their phone number and inform the company responsible. Initially, we inform the distributor and they provide us with the contact number of the company. I inform the distributor that I received this material from them and there is a problem with it. They then give us the contact number of the Medical Representative (MR) of that company. We contact them, and they come here to check the issue and resolve it. They either reimburse the farmer or provide them with other seeds. If the company fails to take any action, then the customer is free to file a complaint against them. We keep everything, we give them bills and everything.

With customers, the payments are in cash. We don't offer credit. Some make online payments, while others pay with cash. Yes, we have a register. If the customer is a regular, I take their phone number because sometimes they tell me that they will pay later. I write it down under their name.

And we mostly deal in cash. We don't offer credit that often. If it is a regular customer, then only they get some credit. No, I don't give them a credit period because I don't get a credit period from the market.

Regarding farmers' likes and dislikes, they use whatever they want to use, whether they want to grow vegetables or anything else. See, if they are growing paddy or brinjals or tomatoes, then we know about this stuff, so I just bring it.

Yes, customers do haggle with me, but we don't do it that much here. This is the price; we don't haggle with them.

No, I don't do anything to write customers' feedback. I remember it. I know which shade is good and which is not, and what customers like. We bring it accordingly.

Some customers pay online and some pay with cash.

The customers would be more important for my business. If there are customers, then there is your business. You need your own inventory. And the staff will come at the end because this keeps changing: the staff.

Yes, you need an inventory; you need it anyway, and in this business, you have to make a big investment. We keep checking the expiry dates. We know that this will expire after this many months, so then we return it; you can return it. They take it back. But you have to return it before it expires. Because I can’t keep expired products in my shop. Because what if some big officer comes here or something, and I don’t give expired products to the customers as well.

Yes, I return it and the company people deduct it from my account. I make payments via cheque or cash.

I informed you about the vendors. The main market is in Nagpur, where there are three or four wholesalers. These wholesalers directly receive supplies from the companies and have branches in Bhandara, as well as three to four other locations like Pandarpur or Gundiya. So, sometimes I purchase from them in Nagpur, or I also buy from here. I do not order from Mumbai or Pune because it is not cost-effective for us to order from such a distant location.

You can say vendors are reliable because they deal with most of the companies. So, we get everything from them. We come to know if we can trust vendors or not when they have good products and the rates are also reasonable. We buy from them based on that. And it's not like we have only one vendor; there are a lot of vendors in this business. One vendor doesn't have everything. The nearest market is Nagpur, which is the main market and supplies to nearby areas. So, it is more affordable for us because Nagpur is nearby. Another thing is, it's not like there is only one vendor in Nagpur; there are so many vendors. So, we order from the vendor we feel is fine and offers affordable rates.

No, I don't go there. Nowadays, you can do it on your phone. Just make phone calls or use WhatsApp. I can place orders on WhatsApp as well. You just have to write the name of the product and quantity. Just make a list and send it to that person.

If something goes wrong with the dealer happens then I can buy it from somewhere else.

Discounts are what distributors receive from the company and pass on to us. Sometimes they have schemes, such as offering a lower price when buying in bulk.

I already told you, we don't get any credit period. We just get a site. For example, if I bring the material today, then I can give them a cheque and it will be cleared in 8 to 15 days. Only that much. Some vendors ask for eight days, and some ask for a cheque or cash. Now everyone is asking for cash.

No, I pay him monthly. If he takes days off knowingly then it is different, but if there is some problem and takes a day off then what can you do about it.

Yes, I give credit. There are some people whom I trust. If I feel that this person will really pay me later, I only offer it to them. I know that. I get that from their nature. Yes, that is true. Farmers would pay after a long time. The thing is, if they are not getting good rates for their crops, if they have invested their money in paddy or something, now they don't have any money. Now they will get money when they harvest the paddy, and they pay you then. I also know that they don't have money right now, but if they don't pay me even when they get money, then I know that this person is not good.

No, I didn't write anything about giving credit to customers. The thing is, I can see it when he buys stuff and pays for it. No, we don't make them write anything. Sometimes I lose money in this as well, it's not like that. Some people don't want to pay; these things happen in business, with losses and profits. The thing is, in the beginning, I wasn't that wise, so I gave credit to a lot of people, but I don't do that now.

Yes, I have insurance. It is from my bank only, I have taken a loan as well, I have a limit.

No apps as such, nothing just use this PhonePe and Google Pay.

Yes, I know about this WhatsApp and all, I don’t use Facebook that much, Instagram as well, I use YouTube sometimes. I know about Google Maps as well; I have all these apps.

I don’t get much time to use Facebook; you can say that.

On YouTube, if I have some time, then I watch videos on it. Currently, I'm following the Chandrayaan mission and all that.

I search things related to business on Google, I check the chemical combinations and all of the medicines. It is very common now, this Google Search.

Take one from the top. Yes, this one, I will type it here. Ridomil Gold fungicide and I search for it like this, they you can see the dosage and benefits of this fungicide.

If there is a new product in the market, then we get information about it from WhatsApp. Our distributor sends it to us on WhatsApp and also informs us about any schemes.

We have groups on WhatsApp, and the company sends us things. We receive all the updates here, including information about seeds and agro science. I deleted all the messages two days ago only. They send us things related to their products. If they launch a new product or something, then they send us an update. They have implemented this program and sent this.

Yes, I also send information to customers on WhatsApp. For example, there was a customer who sent me photos of paddy on that day. He sent me a picture of his farm, showing me the crops and saying they were very good. He specifically mentioned Bhindi. Yes, on that day, another person sent me photos of paddy. He had taken medicine from us and sent the "before" and "after" photos. Yes, the crops are turning yellow. He called me that day and told me that the crops are now good, the medicine worked well for them, and now they are healthy.

No, I don't make video or voice calls on WhatsApp with dealers and customers. I directly call them. I mean, if they are facing some problem or if they want to tell me something, then mostly I prefer phone calls. I use WhatsApp only sometimes.

I use WhatsApp just because of this, sometimes the customers want a particular seed, then they send a photo of that packet, I use it for that.

Yes, WhatsApp is good. No, it is fine. It is better than before. Nowadays, customers just bring us photos and say, "We want this medicine or this vegetable." They directly bring it in WhatsApp. Yes, and they say I want this medicine, they bring a photo of thing.

Yes, Google, as I told you before, provides all the details about this. It includes information about the uses, dosages, and everything related to this product. Ridomil is a type of pesticide. It specifies on which vegetables it can be used and at which stage it should be applied. All of this information is available.

We have Google Pay for my business. It is linked to another account. I have two accounts.

You can see the balance and everything here only. Yes, I check it through Google Pay, the balance and all.

Payments for an entire year, which are different for my shop, require a statement for us to order and use for calculations. We need to determine how much we paid to the parties involved. This is my personal account, and I have a separate account for the business. We can calculate the payments from here. We make cheque payments, so that provides us with all the necessary information. I also have a bank statement.

I send my kid to the bank to deposit the money and then I make the payment to the parties.

I don’t know much about the apps, my son is there, he installed this for me earlier, this Google Pay and all. He knows about these things and I go to him if any problem arises.

Yes, I have to focus on the shop during the day because I have to maintain the stock and sales for the day. It is manual only. Yes, I have a stock register. I have to update the stock daily. Every day, sometimes it gets delayed by a day or two as well if I don't get time, but I have to keep it updated. They can visit us anytime. The Kurshi Adhikari comes here. He checks everything. He can visit my shop anytime, it is not fixed, so, I have to keep it updated.

I didn't see any significant changes 5 years ago, but it is better now because of this mobile. Now it is a little easier; I mean, now the farmers can bring photos of their farms and everything, and you can make payments online with this as well. Yes, I am comfortable. I don't mind how I receive the payments; anything is fine for me.

Yes, there is scope in the next 5 years, and I'm trying to expand my business. The scope is like this: the business is not going to decline because farming is never going to decline. People will keep farming, which is why it will continue to increase. You see, my aim is to expand it, but sometimes what happens is that my business depends on nature, so it fluctuates. It is my job to keep trying.

And this is seasonal business, it is not a everyday business. Like it has been raining for the last seven days now, so, I'm not getting any business. Because during this time farmers don’t go into the farms, they can’t plant anything, they can’t do anything during this time.

You need manpower for opening another shop, it is not easy to open a shop, you need investment and everything.

Success is like when you have more customers, then you are successful. They increase automatically if you handle the customers properly. If you provide them with proper medicines and everything, and if you build that trust, then you will get more customers.

Yes, you see, I have a son and a daughter. My son is studying engineering. I don't think he will get into this business. I asked him, "Will you pursue a http://b.sc/. in agriculture?" So, we will see. My business will be transferred to my wife.