"ORINKO" - Bengaluru-Based Startup, Aims For Sustainable Organic Farming Methods
"ORINKO" - Bengaluru-based startup, aims to make farming more sustainable, reliable, and profitable for farmers with the use of technology while keeping in mind the consumers’ needs.
By Bhavonblog
ORINKO" - Bengaluru-based startup, aims to make farming more sustainable, reliable, and profitable for farmers with the use of technology while keeping in mind the consumers’ needs.
From the total Indian population around 58% depends on agriculture. However, problems such as higher input costs, difficulties in availing credit, access to good quality seeds, middle-man exploitation, storage and supply chain issues, and natural calamities like drought, flood, etc., plague the Indian farmer community.
Comprehending these issues with the agricultural landscape, Vikas Mittal and Ankit Agarwal, Co-founders of agritech startup Orinko, decided to improve farmer’s quality of living while building customers.
Vikas and Ankit met each other while working at Adobe in 2010. After pursuing his MBA from IIM-Shillong, Vikas joined Delhi in July 2014. Meanwhile, Ankit also moved to the Gurugram-based logistics startup and joined Vikas in the product team in March 2017. While working there, the duo always discussed the problems faced by the Indian farmers and wanted to find solutions for them.
Finally, in October 2019, Orinko was incorporated as a vast agritech fruit and vegetable (FnV) startup and became operational in February this year.
“We work on a unique model that addresses the farmers' needs, as well as that of the end customers when it comes to fruit and vegetable produce, ”
-Vikas Mittal, CEO, and Co-founder
Using the digital model, Orinko has incorporated with farmers and micro-entrepreneurs, providing them access to the market with price transparency, thereby eliminating the middle-man.
The startup sells farmers produce in the market under its brand, thus provides them -
- market-competitive price.
- on-time payment.
- delivery support.
They ensure timely farm inspections, operational support, logistics for farmers, and on-time payment — all of which are the major hurdles for the farming community.
“When it comes to the customers, we are solving trust, price & availability issues by tracking the produce journey of fresh, high-quality fruits and vegetables — from the seed to the store,” says Ankit Agarwal, COO, and Co-founder.
Orinko stands for 4 value propositions, which it wants to deliver to its customer through its farm produce.
- Firstly, all the fruits and vegetables provided are chemical-free.
- Secondly, the unique QR code on each vegetable packet provides the seed-to-table tracking information and images of the farm where it is grown.
- Thirdly, all the products are tested for quality checks internally and by government-approved labs.
- And finally, maximum care is taken regarding hygiene at each step of the supply chain.
So, the question is - How it is solving the farmer’s issues?
Apart from traditional farming practices, Orinko also helps farmers with hydroponics (soil-less) farming to efficiently increase the production of healthy fruits and vegetables. Its hydroponics farms are regulated and monitored for nutrients. Presently, these farms produce about 30% of vegetables. The remaining 70% of the Agriform is from regular soil farms.
Agriculture experts visit these farms regularly and work with the cloud farmers with planning, farm infra setup, agricultural input selection, input procurement, growing and monitoring, harvesting, packaging, transportation, and sales. They suggest solutions to the farmers, based on Orinko's app. They schedule plantation and harvesting with the farmer for the whole crop cycle. The in-house developed agriculture technology platform empowers farmers to manage crops, operational processes, finances, and workforce. This platform enables farmers to remotely monitor and track the productivity of each person, process, and operation.
Orinko’s farm produce is available in over 200 offline stores, as well as across multiple online channels, including Supr Daily, Swiggy, Fresh To Home, Star Bazaar, The Organic World, and Town Essentials. They are planning to tie up with Amazon and Flipkart in the upcoming months.
Farm-to-table journey
The unique QR code on the packets enables consumers to trace the product journey, maximizing their experience. The entire network has been a plan to maximize the freshness of the product and to maintain the 24-hour. Right from the plantation to the customer doorstep — everything is enabled with technology.
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