Adgully Exclusive | It's not merely a daily it is a MOVEMENT: Agrowon's Pramod Rajebhosale

"A farmer based in Jalana district of Marathwada region, was an ordinary farmer years ago. His annual income was merely Rs. 50,000. He started reading Agrowon & followed the practices , now he earns Rs.10 lakh p.a. He has built a bunglow in the farm and has named it Agrowon."

Success stories like these and many more, Sakal Group's Agrowon was launched on 20th April 2005. Though headquartered in Pune its presence is across Maharashtra. It has 8 editions and more specifically these editions are based on agri-climatic zone. A 16 pages tabloid newspaper divided in 2 parts i.e. News & core content on agriculture, Agrowon has grown from strength to strength and built its potential readership base.

Adgully caught up with Pramod Rajebhosale, Chief Manager ' Agrowon, as the tabloid completes six successful years.

Talking about the contents of the publications, Rajebhosale says, "The news section carries only news which are related to agricultural sector, viz. Agricultural Policies & Decisions, Weather, Major announcements, Import-Export policies, major happenings etc. These are mostly the headlines . And the happenings in this section are the part of the inner pages which includes news like Agricultural activity , malpractises in Market Samiti ( Mandi ) , Rain, pestiside attack, fertilizer shortage & protest against it, morcha by Farmers etc. Every day we publish Success story of the progressive farmer ( this is the highest readable page ). Along with this Market rates of various commodity prices are published."

He further adds that apart from this , Agrowon is not merely a daily or newspaper but it is a Movement. "To follow this philosophy we do a lot of extensive activities. We do organize Guidance camp (Charchasatra ) for farmers in their villages. Every month we organize more than 15-20 Charchasatra in various villages. The faculties from various agencies, institutes are the guides. All expenses for this activity are borne by Agrowon & it is free to all," he adds.

In a year Agrowon organizes approximately 300 events. Besides the guidance camp, the publication organizes International Study Tour to know the global changes in the agricultural sector.

So what was the potential that drew a publication like Sakal to take up agriculture?

Rajebhosale says, "In Maharashtra, there are a few agricultural based publications but these are either weekly or magazines. Mostly their presence is in regional pockets. Maharashtra is a state of progressive & experimental farmers. The state has around 1.20 Cr households whose income is still agrarian. If we consider only progressive & rich farmers there is a huge potential. Moreover government, agricultural Universities and related Agencies could not be reached easily & on day-to-day basis by the farmers. Thus a farmer needed to update themselves about the changes in technology, productivity, market rate etc. Hence Agrown found its acceptance instantly."

Progressive farmers are the core target group for Agrowon and also those who are eager to know the changes technology, productivity, techniques, opportunity, new and Innovative practices etc in the agricultural sector.

Agrowon is printed & distributed from 8 locations like Pune, Kolhapur, Nasik, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Solapur, Nagpur and Jalgaon. The vendors who distribute Sakal do so for Agrowon too.

With a cover price of Rs. 2.00 across the state. Agriculture related products like fertilizers, Irrigation Management , farm equipment, pesticides, Bio-fertilizer, tractor, tissue culture, nursery etc are some of the major advertsing categories for the publication. However Rajebhosale adds that of late, advertisers from other sectors are also showing interest. "In fact for any advertiser, who is seeking penetration in rural Maharashtra, it is an ideal platform for them to reach and connect with the affluent farmers of the state," he adds.

At the time of its inception in April 2005, Agrowon had an ad rate of Rs.250 per sqcm for BW & Rs. 375 per sqcm for colour. Recently the ad rates were revised in March 2011, the ad rate now is Rs.400 per sqcm for B/ w and Rs. 600 per sqcm for colour .

Rajebhosale says, "Even for FMCG & other relevant categories, seeking rural markets, Agrowon is a relevant option for them for advertising. In terms of readership profile 36% of our readers own four wheelers, 80% own Two wheelers and 68% have refrigarators. Moreover 70% of readers are below 45 age limit.The farmers believe and trust Agrowon. They believe that by reading Agrowon, they can achieve success in their profession."

Recently , Agrowon had organized 'Agrowon Sarpanch Mahaparishad' at Aurangabad. In which 1000 Sarpanch ( head of the village panchayat ) who are well educated , young ( below 45 yr) and experimental had participated. 'To change the village economy by taking initiative for better agricultural practices' was the agenda of the meet and was inaugurated by Central Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

"The sponsors of this year's meet are already writing to us for renewing their participation for 3 years. Moreover they have compared the event with CII/ FICCI," he adds. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]

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