Our food system is broken.
We eat food laced with poison everyday. Even when we buy fresh produce marketed to us as organic, as most of us know, a fairly large percentage of that is not really organically grown. The increased occurrence of diseases such as cancer, is a direct result of this.
On the other hand, our farmers are in great distress. Dwindling incomes along with production, distribution and financing inefficiencies have made it impossible for Indian farmers to earn living wages predictably. As a result, they are resorting to using more and more chemicals to reduce their risk and stop their income from falling.
And finally, our top-soil, which has been amongst the best in the world, has been deteriorating rapidly and soil productivity has touched an all-time low. Earthworms and soil microbe populations are dwindling and we need more and more external harmful inputs every season to sustain the same production level as the earlier growing season.
This seems like a vicious cycle - and it worsens everyday.
Is there a solution ?
At Farmizen (www.farmizen.com), we believe we have a possible solution.
The way it works is very simple -
a. You rent out a 600 square feet mini-farm located in a real farm near you for a monthly fee.
b. The farmer takes care of your vegetable crops for you.
c. You control your farm through an app available on Android and iOS - just like Farmville.
d. You can visit your farm anytime and harvest your own chemical-free produce.
e. If you are busy, Farmizen will home deliver your produce to you every week.
How does this fix the food system ?
i. Farmers get paid a fixed amount every month - so they have NO incentive to adopt practises harmful to the soil. They focus on production, while Farmizen takes care of distribution, marketing, inputs and know-how. There are adequate checks and balances against any violation - crowdsourced audits, remote supervision using drones etc. All agro inputs are provided by Farmizen, to ensure no chemicals get used.
ii. Consumers stay updated through the app - you see photos, videos, updates from the farm - so when you get your veggies, you know exactly when it was planted, when it flowered, what fertilizers were applied etc. Every week, you get fresh locally grown seasonal food, free of chemicals - delivered directly to our doorsteps, or harvested by you at the farm.
iii. Soil quality improves - we follow a natural farming methodology, heavily relying on mulching, indigenous microbe solutions, activation of local earthworms and multi-cropping.
We are live in Bangalore and Surat currently with a hand-ful of farmer partnerships.
Come, join us, and help fix the food system - you can help us in a number of ways:
If you are in Bangalore or Surat, install the Farmizen app from App Store/Play Store or www.farmizen.com - rent out a mini-farm and start growing chemical-free food. And if you have already done that, let us know how we can improve.
If you are based outside Bangalore or Surat, let us know if you would want us to launch in your city soon. And tell your friends in Bangalore and Surat about us.
Come volunteer at one of our partner farms - drop us a note at [email protected]
Know farmers who can partner with us to launch additional farms in Bangalore, Surat or in other cities ? Please tell them about us, and put us in touch with them.
Follow us on Facebook - hit the Follow button.
Lets fix the food system, together !
