Kerala-based Kondody is on a mission to help farmers with its fungicides

‍After overcoming many challenges, today Kondody’s fungicide is the first of its kind in the world and is obtaining a patent for the same

For a long time now, farmers and agriculturalists have been using fungicides to protect their crops from diseases and keep them safe. Unlike insecticides, which are used to kill insects, fungicides are used to form a barrier to protect plants.

Xavier Thomas Kondody, aKerala-based chemical industrialist, observed a common problem faced by farmers when they tried to use the fungicide they made on crops.

“I saw the Bordeaux mixture (a fungicide) being prepared by the farmers every morning, and this process took time. However, the life of this mixture was just around for four hours, which means farmers had to finish spraying the product on the crops within four hours,” he says.

“Further, when it rained, the sprayed substance would get washed away and all their efforts would get wasted. Looking at this problem, I was inspired to find a solution and make life easier for the farmers,” he adds.

‍Kondody arrived at the solution to the Bordeaux mixture problem - a Bordeaux paint, the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

Kondody has been involved in the manufacturing and exporting of copper sulphate (used to make Bordo mix) since 1978. He also set up Sanson Chemical Industries with his son Vivin Kondody in 2002, with an investment of Rs 50 lakh. Xavier and Vivin are currently the Managing Partners and Vivin is also the Head of Marketing at the company.

Since its inception, the company’s brand Kondodys was involved in the manufacturing, trading, importing and exporting of technical grade copper sulphate. The blue crystalline product is used as a protective fungicide to treat leaves and seeds. Before fungus spores settles on leaves, the copper sulphate gradually releases small amounts of soluble copper, which kills the germinating spores.

Sowing the seed of inspiration

This Bordeaux paint is ready-to-use and is unlike the regular Bordeaux mixture. “The paint has a shelf life of eighteen months, which means farmers do not have to prepare it every morning. The extended shelf life means farmers don’t need to finish spraying it in a hurry. This gives them more flexibility and saves a significant amount of their time,” says Kondody.

Further, the paint’s effectiveness is not undermined by rain. “Even when it rains, the farmers need not worry that their copper sulphate will get washed away. The Bordeaux paint is designed to work even in environments which experience rainfall,” adds Kondody. “Its quick action and parallel fungicidal effect of neem oil and surfactant also makes it unique.”

‍Due to its uniqueness and large problem-solving potential for farmers, Kondody has now “applied for a patent of this product and the application is being processed.”  

Sustaining the growth

Despite the invention, the journey of running the business normally had its fair share of challenges. “The main hurdles we faced were scarcity of copper, inadequacy of working capital, expanded requirements of collateral security for financing by banks, non availability of alternative capital and unreasonable regulatory control,” he says.

Apart from that, the lack of financial support for offering credit to regular buyers was another challenge. While some units had high Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates of eighteen percent, other units were allowed twelve percent GST for the same product, which compounded the issue according to him.

“We faced difficulties in achieving superior technology to reduce the cost of production and to achieve expanded production capacity,” he says.

‍In the face of such adversity, Kondody placed emphasis on qualities such as hard work, courage to take risks and perseverance. “We also depended on personal contact, regular monitoring on purchase and sales strategies and vernacular communication strategies,” he adds.

Slowly but surely, Sanson started making profits in 2016. Its current turnover is Rs 11 crore and Kondody is targeting Rs 20 crore by 2020. Sanson also aims to revive its export market to Rs 5 crore and approach a reputed Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) to acquire working capital.

Presently, Sanson caters to around thirty percent of the market size and looks to grow. Nevertheless, Kondody is welcoming new entrants in the market. “The newcomers should study and appraise the market requirement in terms of quantity and quality of the product. This is because the industry features a larger production capacity than demand,” he says. “I hope the newcomers understand that the market is global and competition is at their doors.”

Kondody also maintains the newcomers should contact existing branded producers and procure orders from them on a long-term basis, instead of attempting for a direct market.

Sanson Chemical Industries currently has facilities in Kottayam (Kerala), Mangaluru and Chikmagalur (Karnataka).

(This story is published in partnership with the MSME Ministry to showcase success stories of SMEs)