Being an agricultural country, Nepal has not been able to profit from its available agricultural resources. There are numerous reasons behind the failure and one of them is a lack of proper business ideas. Considering the shortage in connection between the demand in city and farmers, Shashank Shree Neupane established an online platform named Rising Farm, in July 2017. Rising Farm is a collaborative platform for the investors and farmers through which micro investor chooses and farmer to grow goats and pay them accordingly. With this platform, anyone can be a farmer in just a click.
How does it work
First, capital is collected from the investors. Investors have to pay Rs 3000 to 3500 per kid. Then Rs 600 is paid every month for the feeding and grooming of the goat. The goats are then distributed among the local farmers to raise them. The goats become ready to be sold after 6 months and then 70, 30 and 10 percent of profits are distributed among investor, farmer and Rising Farm respectively. The venture recently completed its trial phase where they successfully distributed 48 goats without any death. Speaking about his experience Neupane said, “It took a year for us to implement the plan. During our trail phase we noticed that the business is fruitful for both investors and the farmers. So we are looking forward to expanding this business as a mega project.”
Changes in Farming System
Inspiration behind the initiative
Neupane is an electrical engineer and was involved in goat farming with other two members. But after devastating earthquake of 2015 which destroyed their sheds, the partners backed out from the project. However, his dedication and passion for agriculture deepened his intention to continue the business. As his shed was destroyed by the earthquake, he decided to continue the same business through micro-investors. Speaking about his inspiration to establish Rising Farm, Neupane stated that the venture is the result of his understanding of the problems of Nepali farmers. He added, “No doubt that majority of the Nepali population depend on agriculture, yet they don’t get proper market. So our main motive is to provide proper market and to promote farming among the youngsters.” Initially, the farm was named ‘Shree farm’. When asked to illuminate the reason behind the venture’s name Neupane further informed that, “Shree Farm was too common. So, we were searching for a better name. Rising farm sounds better and indicates that the business is growing. So we used it as our official name.”
Challenges faced
Establishing a business is like a nightmare. Every business has to face challenges, no matter how successful the business may get. There will be numerous obstacles waiting to test your patience in many phases of the business. Rising Farm went through several challenges in the earlier phase of introducing their venture in the market.
Though technology has travelled a milestone, some people are still not familiar with it. So the founders struggled in making people aware about the existence of Rising Farm. Recalling the initial phase of the venture, Neupane said, “Initially we faced a huge problem to advertise about Rising Farm. So I went to numerous places and promoted our work to masses.” Neupane added, “After completing this promotion, we decided to hit the market on a trial basis.” Similarly, unavailability of livestock is another major problem that the venture is facing till date. Neupane stated that livestock is not available easily and if we bring them from other region they become prone to death as they cannot cope with the changing climate. Likewise, minimizing the death of goats and monitoring the work of vet and farmers in a regular basis is also challenging for the founders since the head office is situated in the capital.
Overcoming challenges
Livestocks are delicate and if they are not provided good feed, environment and health services they can create a loss for investors. So the company has insured the goats which will fund all loss if they die. Similarly, they have hired veterinarian to monitor the work of farmers. Likewise, Neupane has decided to collect kids of goat from local market so that they don’t face any kind of climatic change.
Future plan
After completing the trial period, his venture has expanded and is currently preparing to increase the numbers of goats in Palpa. According to Neupane, they have started collecting kids and this time they are looking to raise 1000 goats. Neupane said, “Climate condition of Palpa is perfect for goat farming and local farmers are enthusiast to work in collaboration with Rising Farm.” Apart from 20 percentage of profit and monthly payment, farmers will get proper market for their goats if they use the Rising Farm. Neupane claimed, “Through rising farm neither farmers nor investors have to face losses.” Further talking about the future plans Neupane added, “After completing two to three sessions of goat farming we are planning to move to other animal husbandry like buffaloes, rabbits and so on. Likewise, we are working for horticulture, floriculture as well.” Currently the venture is working to collect 1000 kids of goat in Palpa for their second session of goat farming.
