When did you start your Agriventure? What are the initial problems you faced?
I have started Green Morning Horticulture Services Pvt Ltd in 2010. The initial problem which I encountered was to make people aware of the idea behind my Agriventure. I had faced difficulty in convincing them.
What about the funding of your Agriventure? What is the annual turnover?
Initially, we had difficulty with the working capital. The UCO bank supported us with the working capital loan. Now the annual turnover is around five and a half crore.
What is the scope of entrepreneurship in the field of Agriculture?
Agriculture has a lot of entrepreneurship possibilities. I personally felt that after my MSc in Agriculture, my MBA background in Agribusiness helped me a lot because I got to know the business tactics and have built various contacts in my field while pursuing the course.
What are the services your Agriventure offers?
Initially, we offered services like Landscape Designing & Development, Vertical & Terrace Gardens, Tree transplantation, Plant Rentals, Agri & Horticulture Consultancy and Vermi-compost sale. But now we are only into tree transplantation as it has become a huge business for us. It is better to relocate trees rather than felling them. The process of tree transplantation is slow which takes time & what makes it expensive is basically the need to hire earth movers, cranes, and trailers. The mission of my firm is to save every tree possible from our side. We want to make sure that no cutting of trees is done for any cause.
Green Morning Firm is also providing consultancy services to farming communities through Haritha Nursery. We help them in getting the new technology to their hands.
Who are your clients? How did you manage to win their trust?
We work for Hyderabad Metro rail and Pune Metro. We are also working on bullet train projects, for Forest Department Orissa, NHAI Jharkhand, etc. The mantra of the successful venture is Client-trust. Initially winning their trust was most difficult as even I was new in this field and with my trial & error methods, I experimented many times. We did all possibilities and finally, after 1-2 years, we showed the live results to Government officials that how a tree can be transplanted and finally they got convinced.
What is your advice to students who are interested to become Agripreneurs?
Innovation is a simple process to bridge the gap where the need is required. Always check where the gap is needed to be filled and try to be innovative in that aspect.
