ERNAKULAM: Amid the Covid crisis, many an entrepreneur in the state has launched ventures catering to the needy. But rarely have people come up with something wholly altruistic like VM Mansi, a 23-year-old MBA student in Kochi, has done. After coming across reports about farmers’ struggles in the wake of the pandemic, Mansi, a resident of Kadavanthra, decided to start ‘Farmful’ — an Instagram page — to help farmers in the district sell their produce.
“Covid has been hard on everyone. But I feel the farmers were hit the hardest, as many of them didn’t have any avenue to sell their produce. The markets were a choice, of course. But the middlemen there are fleecing the farmers in the name of the pandemic,” Mansi said.
The drying up of the wedding market has significantly affected the farmers, she said. “Caterers make up a big chunk of the farmers’ clientele,” she said. Before going ahead with her idea, Mansi had discussed it with her mother -- an agriculture officer.
“On getting her nod, I launched the Instagram page. And I was able to connect with people who knew of farmers in distress,” said the young student. Mansi, who is doing her MBA from the International School of Business and Media, Pune, has been at home since the pandemic broke out.
“When I launched the page on December 4, I hadn’t imagined that I would end up receiving enquiries from all over Ernakulam,” she said.In just a matter of weeks, she helped farmers sell around 40kg of elephant foot yams, 108kg of pineapples, and 2kg coccum. She has received another 90kg of elephant foot yam, which is currently in the process of being sold. “I collect the produce from the farmers and arrange the sale,” said Mansi. “The elephant foot yam that I receive don’t cause itching, unlike the ones you buy from the market,” she said.
“Having a mother who is an agriculture officer is a boon. She is experienced and can weed out the bad produce from the good,” said Mansi. Her collection centre is a small room at the apartment complex in which she lives with her family. All the proceeds from the sale go to the farmers. “I only deduct a small amount for the transportation costs incurred to bring in the produce,” she said.