Drumstick / Moringa: 3 INR to 30 INR, and then back to 15 INR

Hi Everyone --

Hope you are doing well and staying safe. Its been months, and I am catching up again.

In this blog, I will discuss about drumsticks (Moringa) price variations and the mindset of a farmer, of course myself and not quoting anyone. :)

Just a background, to all my international readers, below is an image of drumstick. However, it is called as "Moringa" in many countries.  Drumstick is not a chicken. :(. It is a vegetable in our country - India.

In last two months, I saw price of one kg drumstick/moringa moved from 3 INR to 30 INR.  Of course, it is a good amount for a farmer. But, I was wondering,  what happened? I did not do anything special. It is the same farm, same workers and me too.  Same as stock market. :).. Suddenly I see ups and downs.

So, what changed the price from 3 to 30?.

1. Did demand go-high for drumstick in last one month? - Yes, this is the logical answer, anyone would give. - Where is the demand coming from suddenly? - More consumers?

2. The whole country is in lock-down mode. Vegetable vehicles are being allowed in the same way, like last few months.  So, where is the demand suddenly from?

3. If the price goes up to 30 per kg, then how did it come down in next two weeks to 15 INR per kg?  - What again changed here?. Demand went down? - Less consumers?

Farmers are same. Consumers are same!.  Someone determines the price in between.  Farmers are not empowered to determine/fix the price of the food items that they are producing.  Same with consumers, who are not empowered either. It is not only for drumstick. It is applicable for bananas, other fruits and all types of vegetables.

So, in summary:  Can we say, trading determines the price?.  The more number of traders, they compete each other and hike the procurement price.  I am seeing this in my case. Small traders come to farm; they compete each other and keep on increasing the price per kg.  We just watch, wait for the final price and give to the person, who is giving maximum. Should we entertain this?

In some days, we wait for the best price from traders, negotiate with them and then send to market. This should not be entertained. My dad says, this is how it is being done in last few decades. I wish for a change here with transparency and digital payment options.

I feel very bad about this. Trading should not be allowed for food/vegetable items. If every farmer, starts trading or business with their food items that they produce, consumers will be impacted.  Every farmer will be proud, only if their farm products reach consumers on-time with "freshness" and with good quality.

What I am learning:

1. How to send the drumsticks, directly to consumers, so that they get fresh.  - This is happiness. This is a proud moment for farmer.

2. Learn how to negotiate with traders. Otherwise, you cannot survive.  Definitely looking for a change so that everyone is fair and introduce digital payment wherever possible.

3. Open a small outlet, have a small truck and sell directly to consumers. If I do that, what happens, when we dont have drumsticks in farm?. Then, I will become a trader and start trading with other items?. Because one you have shop and truck, you have other costs.

4. Send directly to big e-commerce food market place holders like, amazon, reliance, big bazaar etc?

5. Fight for "fixed price for farm products". Fight for farmers rights, they know the cost to produce and they should be empowered to fix the price?

Your comments are welcome and I really appreciate that. :) Thank you for reading and here are some pics from farm:

Here is the image of a drumstick / moringa tree in red soil:

Here is the image of moringa / drumstick trees from farm:

Here is the production output, ready for packing: :)

Thank you again. Stay safe and stay healthy.