Why do farmers dump tomatoes on the road?
The answer to a great extent lies in supply chain management. Why only tomatoes? (By the way, tomato is a fruit!) Potatoes, cabbage, brinjal and several other vegetables are dumped by the roadside, by farmers for want of transport and buyers.
Every year, we read headlines such as ‘Angry tomato farmers dump entire produce on roads’, ‘Prices crash, tomato farmers in doldrums’, ‘Haryana farmers dump potato on road, demand remunerative price’. Year after year, it is the same story.
M K Gandhi once said, “The blood of the villages, is the cement of the cities.’ While cities grow, the plight of the average Indian farmer has not changed much. A large quantity of vegetables rot in the farms because of an inefficient supply chain. Supply chain, simply put, is getting things transported from point A to point B. Sounds simple, but the inability to do so, is leading to more than 10,000 farmer suicides every year.
Farmers struggle to get the produce to the market. Unable to cover the cost of labour and transportation, they leave it unharvested, dump it on roads and wells or distribute it for free.
The farmer depends on the middlemen who is in between the farmer and the trader, as a result, farmers have to depend on him and settle for whatever price is offered. Being a perishable commodity, they are helpless.
It is against this backdrop that a solid supply chain network comes handy. The farmers do not have transport facility and in several states, the governments have not been successful in linking the markets.
Lack of refrigerated trucks, cold storage facility, elimination of middlemen who often form a syndicate and decide the price and the fate of the farmer. Unless godowns are built and coordination between production and demand is not improved, the state of the farmer will not improve.
Career in supply chain management, anyone?
In the last few years, several companies are looking to recruit graduates who specialized in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Logistics. The demand is growing as the world is integrating at a fast pace.
Opportunities:
Almost every sector needs SCM specialists. Lately, Reliance, Mother Dairy, Heritage Foods – to name a few, have boarded several management specialists. Likewise, electronic giants such as Apple, Samsung, automotive sector, aviation, shipping, you name it – are on the lookout for SCM specialists.
Skills needed:
The candidate should be able to manage data and models. Have an understanding on how the supply chains in the industry works. Keep abreast of the global trends, understand the dynamics of the industry and adapt.
Positions:
The supply chain network is complicated and there are several positions.
Purchase manager:
Identify and select new suppliers while dealing with existing ones
Manager operations:
Manage the overall operations and forecast future needs
Inventory manager:
Monitor the flow and quality and see the flow in distribution centres
Transport manager:
Responsibilities include, the delivery of products on time and maintain relationship with logistic carriers
