Farmers in Kollegal Dhondenling do not have access to farming equipment when they need it the most, particularly during peak farming season. As a result, farm crop yield are not optimal as they have not been able to prepare their field before the rains and this causes major distress to the farmers whose livelihood depend solely on their crop yield.
The lack of readily available tractors is due to the inefficiencies in the market. There are only two operators the Tibetan Cooperative Society and the local Indian Tractor operators here. The Tibetan Cooperative Society tractors cannot contribute much to the Tibetan farmer in a timely manner due to their rigid preschedules while local Indian tractor operator provide unsatisfactory service as they lack professionalism.
Seeing a dire need for accessible and efficient
farm equipment, Genla Tractors was founded in October 2015 by me, an aspiring Tibetan youth entrepreneur with a Project Management certificate from Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK and a Bachelor of Business Management from Christ College in Bangalore. My vision for Genla Tractors is to transform the lives of the Tibetan farmers by making tractor equipment service within easy reach without having them be subject to discrimination, uncertainty and disappointment. That vision has been facilitated through ENVISION support and Genla Tractors as Tibetan farmers now have access to high grade farm equipment, well maintained tractors, and trained drivers to cater to their needs at every stage of farming.
ENVISION, under the leadership of Director Youdon Aukatsang provided a business loan after reviewing an application for Genla Tractors under the ENVISION Tibetan Entrepreneurship Fund for 2015. The proceeds were used immediately to buy and service the parts of Genla Tractors secon
d hand tractor that required immediate attention. The following parts were the tires, sterling system, battery, gear oil, GPS devices, diesel pump, alternator, bumper, tools and the hydraulic system. At that time, if ENVISION had not provided those funds, Genla Tractor would not have been viable business as we would have used all of our working capital in getting the tractors on service. As a result of the business loan, Genla Tractors has become significantly more profitable as we have much more efficient and productive tractor after all the major repairs. Also the people of Kollegal Dhondeling have benefited as Genla Tractors have scaled up on the reliability metrics after the overhauls.
Customers have commended Genla Tractors on the excellent customer service from booking to completion. Also, Tibetan farmers are satisfied that they are no longer exploited by the other tractor operators. Now the Tibetan farmers bank upon Genla Tractors because we don’t just serve the customer to make a fast buck but delight them by truly solving their problems.
With ENVISIONS assistance, Genla Tractors has mad
e tractor equipment easily available to the Tibetan farmers who is able to timely grow their crops, right before the rains without any delay. As a result, crop output will increase significantly. This I believe will certainly lead to the prosperity of the Tibetan farmer, which definitely will have a trickle effect on the Tibetan economy in Kollegal Dhondenling leading to inclusive growth. In conclusion, I would like to thank ENVISION and Director Youdon la on behalf of Genla Tractor and the people of Kollegal Dhondenling. I also encourage other participants to apply for ENVISIONS Tibetan Entrepreneurship Fund if they want to be on an upward trajectory.