India is the world’s largest producer of milk and has the highest cattle population. As most Indians are vegetarians, Milk is the only source of protein and average consumption of milk is growing every year. With the increase in population every year, the demand for milk has been growing exponentially. People worship cows and treat them as their family members. However, the fodder available for the cattle is not sufficient, in fact there is a huge gap between requirement and availability. According to the Vision 2050 report published by National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology (NIANP), the fodder deficit would be about 40% by 2025. In order to address this deficit, governments, research institutions and entrepreneurs have been trying to come up with solutions. One such solution is natural preservation of green forages and enriching them through fermentation. This process is called ensiling and the produce is called SILAGE.
Four highly educated and young entrepreneurs started Cornext Agri Products in 2015 to make Baled Silage which is the most advanced technology in silage making. They understood technology, adapted to Indian conditions and commercialized Baled Silage since then. Initially the company started working with the Andhra Pradesh Government as PPP partner to distribute Baled Silage to marginal dairy farmers at subsidized prices and became an instant hit. In 2017, AP Animal Husbandry dept has received Best Practices in Animal Husbandry award from Govt of India.
As the demand for Silage increased, the company understood one Cornext is not enough to address this fodder crisis. The company expanded its vision to empower small dairy farmers to become self-dependent, which required customizable solutions to help the farmers produce silage on their own. To achieve this vision, Cornext designed and created Mini Silage Baler that produces 50kg bales which is again a big success among rural dairy farmers. This decentralized silage baling reduced the price paid by dairy farmers as logistics cost reduced. The company received an overwhelming response for pioneering this technology globally. Soon after the domestic success of the machine, Cornext started receiving orders globally. Mini Silage Balers currently produce silage bales in more than 20 states across India and countries like Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc.
This mini silage baling unit has solved mainly three problems, 1) It has reduced the crop requirement from hundreds of acres to tens of acres, 2) it has taken the production to consumer, thus reduced logistics cost and 3) Most importantly, it brought most advanced baling technology to rural entrepreneurs. With these three advantages, Mini Silage baling has become a great success among dairy farmers and small milk unions. Till now, this startup company created more than 100 rural fodder entrepreneurs and also created employment to hundreds of youth. In May 2020 as part of the Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge , The Animal Husbandry Department, Government of India recognised CORNEXT as one of the best startups in the Animal Nutrition sector and adapted the solution into their policy. The vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat can be realized only when more and more rural entrepreneurs are created.
Cornext Agri Products is a startup that is creating more startups in the animal nutrition space and also addressing the fodder crisis in India. Now, in order to encourage more and more rural youth to become Fodder Entrepreneurs’, the company is launching a Franchise model. Through its new Franchise Model, Cornext is supporting village level fodder entrepreneurs by giving them Buy back guarantee for first 3 years Training and technology support With the upcoming Franchise Model for Rural Fodder Entrepreneurs, Cornext is aiming to create a change in the dairy farming sector on a community level. With this model, the company is expecting to make a difference in the following ways:
The Baled Silage is a Sunshine sector for which rural entrepreneurship is a must, and the model is aimed at supporting that. There is a need for micro-level entrepreneurship which can be a great employment generator for many dairy farmers throughout the country. This new model can Benefit the Maize & Dairy Farming community as a whole. With this model, the company is bringing the power of e-commerce to the door-step of the Indian farmer. Development of a new Farmer Business Network will be possible. It will also bring world-class technology at the cheapest possible price through the Make in India initiative. These are few of the many shades of the upcoming franchise Model. Unveiling the future of Fodder Entrepreneurial Ecosystem After the massive success of the first-ever indigenously developed mini silage baler, CORNEXT MSB500, the company is taking its next step into the future of silage baling technology by unveiling the revolutionary CORNEXT MSB500 AT PRO at their Grand Virtual Launch on October 6th, 2020 at 3 PM. This new mini silage baler is expected to be equipped with new automatic features that will transform the silage baling technology in India and will support the future vision of the Cornext community.
