New Leaf Dynamic is transforming the milk trade in the countryside with low-cost chilling units that work on farm waste. It is also revamping a mass of other farm-produce markets that have been restricted by gaps in the country’s farm-to-fork cold chain. Their product, GreenCHILL coolers are installed in Gujarat’s Rajkot district, Berhampur in Odisha, and in Assam’s Majuli district and Silchar.

Challenges solved by New Leaf

If a local milkmen who delivers their products to nearby processing units missed even a couple of deliveries a week they were compelled to sell the milk for half price in local markets. Farmers are unable to hoard their produce as villages in India don’t have access to reliable power supply. New Leaf realised that the best solution would be to enable the farmers to store their produce for a period and help them in optimising their prices. This is based on the thinking that if farmers are able stock their produce carefully, they can obtain better prices once the season has gone by.

Solutions by New Leaf

GreenCHILL uses advanced materials and processes patented by New Leaf to generate refrigeration from heat without using grid power or diesel.

GreenCHILL is a vapour adsorption cycle-based refrigeration system designed explicitly for small-scale enterprising growers. GreenCHIL provides refrigeration for cooling of fruit, vegetables, flowers and milk, at the village or farm level. This allows farmers to store their produce until market demand and prices increase enabling them to earn more and in an environmentally sustainable manner. The next product, Off-Grid Cold Storage comes with a storage capacity extending to 10 to 15 metric tonnes. The company noticed that horticulture and floriculture produce needed such products more and shifted their focus and developed new products for them.

Alongside the product that is familiar to user-requirement to include pre-cooling and other customizations. New Leaf Dynamics aids the farmer with debt and subsidy access while raising their Purchase Order, and delivers them with necessary market linkages to raise an improved price for their harvest. 

Key Benefits

Biomass Energy – Power Cold Chain Infrastructure.

• Recycles farm waste to run cold rooms at Farm Gate, Aggregation Centres or Pack-Houses.

• Decreases post-harvest losses.

• Holds freshness for up to 2 months.

• Guarantees produce reaches multiple markets.

• Saves up to 30 tons of carbon emissions per annum.

GreenCHILL is perfect for small farmers, whether on or near-farm, with volumes ranging from 10MT, 15MT to 20MT. As an alternative to electricity or fossil fuels, it is driven using farm waste or biomass. The Green Refrigerant uses brands GreenCHILL ecologically sustainable. The company took an off-grid approach and depended on unusual sources of power — cow dung, rice husk, etc. In their present iteration, the sustainable coolers are capable of holding up to 1,000 litres of dairy and 30,000 kg of fruits, vegetables and fish.

The eco-friendly system claims the rewards of zero greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint. Along with cold storage and pre-cooling, the refrigeration unit performs as a ripening chamber for fruits and vegetables as well. The cold storage units can be used to stock vegetables, fruits, seafood, grain, flowers or other horticultural goods that need to stay in a temperature range of -5 to 20º Celsius—as the machines uphold.

Looking Ahead

With 10 more installations achievable, New Leaf Dynamic is progressively moving towards its goal. The company is presently reaching out to farmers and also involving in ventures that work with farmers and want to care for the community.

It has signed an agreement with the Assam government to start storage facilities for farm and fishery goods at the district level in the state. The sales team is presently working in Gujarat, Haryana and UP, among other states, and will soon expand to Punjab. Going forward, they plan to make air conditioners that would run on farm waste and that will be useful for the manufacturing sector, real estate, etc.

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