One example of how readily available energy can be efficiently utilized for farmers’ benefit is the solar drying method. Giving farmers access to a foldable solar dryer that is both inexpensive and do-it-yourself allows them to turn produce that would otherwise be wasted or sold at extremely low prices into value-added items, such as dried tomatoes, onions, ginger, mangoes, watermelons, rose petals, etc. Farmers won’t benefit from solar dryers alone, though, because they lack access to markets. Raheja Solar Food Processing solves this second half of the equation.
To sell these dried goods to final customers, the business purchases them from the farmers.Because they can sell their produce anytime market prices are high, this longer shelf life gives farmers some control over market prices. Farmers gain control over traders and become independent of market prices as a result. Therefore, our affiliated farmers sell it whenever their prices in the fresh market are high, and if not, they process it,” he continues. Varun claims that he has teamed up with regional suppliers who produce various components in accordance with his designs, thus the solar dryers are produced locally.
The company has built 1,600 solar dryers to date, with prices ranging from Rs 10,000 for home use to Rs 5 lakh for mid-sized models.To purchase dried produce from the farmers, the company has established two collecting centers, one in Vijayawada and one in Indore.