Milk has always been an integral part of life in India. And the iconic Amul Doodh Doodh ad made the milk mooch a must-have, across homes in rural and urban India. However, the 2019-20 fiscal year showed the steepest increase in the prices of milk, a consequence of lower milk yield due to shortage of fodder availability, according to reports. Feeding good fodder to cattle is one of the major requirements for milk yield, but India is facing serious lack of fodder. According to a media report, India is experiencing 23.4 percent shortage in dry fodder availability, 11.24 percent in green fodder, and 28.9 percent in concentrates.
Needless to say, the lack of fodder and the consequent drop in milk yield is causing financial losses to several dairy farmers. Bengaluru-based Hydrogreens Agri Solutions Private Limited aims to solve the fodder crisis problem through Kambala, its climate-controlled vertical fodder grow house. Founded in 2019 by Vasanth Madhav Kamath and Jeevan M, the startup helps farmers grow healthy fodder for their cattle even in high temperatures and dry areas. The founders established the startup with an initial investment of Rs 25 lakh, Vasanth told YourStory.
How Kambala is solving the fodder crisis
Vasanth says the a massive fodder shortage affects millions of dairy farmers in India. This is why Hydrogreen designed a climate-controlled vertical grow house, which allows the farmers to grow nutritious fodder for the entire year. Vasanth worked in the agritech sector before founding Hydrogreen. He was involved in producing cotton in a climate-controlled environment with reduced need of water. He founded the company after he understood the problem and pain points of farmers, after interacting with them during this time.
Read more at Your Story (Shreya Ganguly)