This is the story of willpower, perseverance, and unshakable faith in the vision to create something remarkable. This is the story of Mrs. Swati Babasaheb Patil (39) from Bhimanagar, Solapur, Maharashtra who has become a living example of a strong empowered woman who pushed through all the socio-economic barriers and emerged as a success story.
Born in a family of farmers, she was always fascinated by various aspects of the agricultural framework and would be a regular participant in all the agricultural practices performed by the family members. With an entrepreneurial mindset and having been closely associated with the agricultural practices at home, she realized that there was scope to do something bigger and take things to the next level.
After getting married, her dreams came to a halt as she took to the role of being a homemaker. But this halt was only momentary because her inner calling was not letting her stay at peace. She started to look for ways to jump-start her entrepreneurial journey and started interacting with friends, family members, and industry experts involved in agriculture. These interactions led her to the term “food processing”. While the term was relatively new to her, she realized that this term was merely a nomenclature for something that she was already doing at home.
Sorghum (Jowar) is one of the prominent Millet-based crops cultivated in the district and she was making various Sorghum-based products like biscuits, flakes, flour, etc. She received training from Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Baramati on Millet processing and value addition which sharpened her skills and enhanced her knowledge base. Upon understanding the market potential for processed food products, she immediately latched onto the food processing framework and unlocked a new dimension that was also the answer to her question of taking agriculture to the next level. A story is as good as the obstacles faced by the protagonist and there were many obstacles in her journey.
To begin with, the financial circumstances of her family did not allow her to invest in purchasing machinery to set up a food processing unit. Adding to it was the societal pressure that she faced being a woman aspiring to be an entrepreneur. But she did not flinch even for a single moment and continued to look for ways to get things going. Eventually, she decided to take a loan from private financial institutes and relatives at high-interest rates. With the finances in place, she launched her Millet-based enterprise Shubhada Processing Industries in 2014. For nearly the next two years, she received zero return on investment. There came a moment when she started to question her choices but despite this self-doubt, she decided to follow her instinct and kept moving forward.
Success knocked on her doorstep in 2016 when she received the first order worth Rs. 9,50,000 for Sorghum Flour and Poha for which she left no stone unturned and met the consumer requirement with premium quality products. This was merely the beginning of what would become a chain reaction of consumer orders which resulted in her enterprise generating an annual turnover of Rs. 4,00,00,000 in 2019. Even though she had proved everyone wrong who had doubted her capabilities, she was still not at peace and wanted to expand her enterprise. Her dream manifested into reality when she came to know about the PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme.
She immediately applied for receiving the financial support provided under the PMFME Scheme for the up-gradation of her enterprise and received a bank loan of Rs. 18,00,000 in Dec 2021. With this amount, she purchased a roasting machine, an oven, and a cleaning machine. With the help of the machinery, she was now able to perform several processes like cleaning, pulverizing, mixing, and baking. Presently, this Aatmanirbhar Enterprise produces a wide range of products like Suji, Biscuits, Flour, and Flakes with a special focus on the processing of Finger Millet (Ragi) and Sorghum (Jowar).
Mrs. Swati Babasaheb Patil is currently marketing her products in Solapur, Maharashtra through offline stores and retail outlets. She has utilized digital e-commerce platforms and social media platforms for marketing her products. She has employed 9 members (3 male & 6 female) in her enterprise and her aim is to generate more employment opportunities, especially for women in her village. She wants to empower every single woman of her village to be able to follow their passion and become an embodiment of Aatmanirbhar Narishakti. The financial turnover of Subhada Processing Industries for FY 2020-21 was Rs. 28,94,500. For her efforts, she received the Navrashtra Women Award by the Agriculture Department, Government of Maharashtra in 2021.
(Content shared by: Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Baramati, Maharashtra)