Animal Fodder Deficit in India - a real problem

As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, India has faced challenges in meeting the demand for quality fodder. The availability and quality of fodder can vary across different regions of the country, and several factors contribute to the fodder deficit:

Green Fodder in Fields

1. Inadequate Cultivated Land: India has limited arable land, and a significant portion is
dedicated to food crops. As a result, the land available for fodder cultivation might be insufficient to meet the demand.

2. Dependence on Rainfed Agriculture: A large part of India's agriculture is rainfed, making fodder cultivation heavily reliant on monsoon rains. Irregular rainfall patterns can lead to fluctuations in fodder production.

3. Seasonal Variation: Fodder production is often affected by seasonal changes, with shortages being more common during the dry seasons.

4. Lack of Knowledge and Awareness: Many farmers may not be fully aware of the benefits of high-quality fodder or may lack the knowledge and resources to produce it.

5. Fodder Management Practices: Improper management and storage of fodder can lead to spoilage and nutrient losses, affecting its quality.

6. Competition for Resources: The competition for resources like water and land between fodder production and food crops can limit the availability and quality of fodder.

7. Climate Change: Climate change impacts, such as unpredictable weather patterns and extreme events like droughts, can further exacerbate fodder deficits.

It's worth noting that the government of India and various non-governmental organizations have been working to address these challenges and promote better fodder management practices. Initiatives like improved seeds for fodder crops, promotion of hydroponic fodder systems, and awareness campaigns on fodder conservation and management have been undertaken to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Been a while. Time to restart.

Its been a few years. Was quiet and on Twitter. 

A lot of exciting stuff happening around the world so time to pipe-in with my own rant. 

Beware again :-)

Store specific coupons - no longer a big deal.

Mobile Coupons are an effective tool to get shoppers into the store, or on their app or web-store. However, this effective tool has been out of reach of small neighborhood merchants. The process of issuing m-coupons to consumers, tracking them, redeeming them etc. is generally out of the capability of independent merchants who cannot afford the services of specialized marketing agencies or the costs of the required high-end technology. 

AaramShop has been able to address this challenge. We have opened up the opportunity to our partner merchants to use their mobile app (AaramOn), to publish, push and then deem coupons which are specific to their store. We have enabled this as a free to use feature on our merchant app (and across the entire tech stack). 

We have taken things a step further to add a little more aaram for our shoppers. They now have multiple options to redeem the coupons issued to them - on their app, on the web-store or when they walk into their neighborhood store. 

Here is a video to explain how simple it is for the retailers to deploy their store coupons. 

Buy Now Pay Later - demonitization special

Demonetization led to neighbourhood retailers, especially grocery stores, been adversely effected as business volumes dipped due to lack of availability of loose cash and the mindset amongst consumers to hold on to their low denomination currently.

However, rather than getting pulled down by that, we worked with our partner retailers to ensure they leverage their years of relationships & trust within their community. 

We have enabled a great feature on our mobile apps for our partner retailers keeping in mind the scarcity of monies on account of demonitization. 

Our retailers can now extend informal credit to their known consumers, using our merchant app (AaramOn). The retailer himself decides the amount of credit extended and it’s duration. AaramShop communicates the info of the credit amount etc seamlessly to the customers. 

This informal credit line means that the consumers can shop for the daily needs without needing to worry about cash in hand. The shopping can be done not just on the app and the website, but also in-store. The customers can pay at the end of the credit term, using cards, JioMoney, cheque or even cash.

AaramShop has extended this service to all retailers at zero cost to them and their customers. This is to ensure that the pain demonitization is eased by the years of relationship and trust between the retailers and their customers. 

Mobile Coupons Drive Traffic to the small retailers.

The independent retailers have had a drawback. Their marketing efforts lacked teeth. Unlike the large format stores, the neighborhood based independent stores have been unable to undertake precise and results oriented marketing. 

Mobile Coupons are known to drive consumer engagement and usage, but their usage has traditionally been limited larger establishments with well defined CRM practices. 

AaramShop has finally brought forth a solution that combines the power of mobile coupons with the ease of use and flexibility. A solution which is custom designed for small retailers and their specific requirements.

Our coupon solution helps the retailers drive:

1. increased awareness among the shoppers in the neighborhood.

2. sales of specific product lines or bill cuts of higher value.

3. increased footfalls and orders. 

And all with the flexibility of using our free merchant solutions on the app, cloud or in-store - AaramOn