Launching Farmer Support Vehicle
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Majority farmers in the region take only one crop of rice from June to Oct/Nov every year and migrate to other regions for earning. This impacts their kids’ education, their health, elders and overall family. In last 4-5 years, we have been working with the farmers and have been encouraging them to take-up additional 2 or 3 crops in the land – for improving livelihood and arrest the migration of working people from family. Couple of villages who had availability of water, have come-up and have started taking various produce such as, onions, garlic, leafy vegetables, bottle gourd, brinjal, lady-finger, ginger, guar, chili, and mogra flower, mango, etc cash crops after their rice season.
When they sell this produce locally (to an agent), they get rate of 30-35% of the final retail price which is sold to consumers like us. However, if they take the produce to nearby market themselves, they possibly can get upwards of 60% of final retail price and almost 80-85% of final retail price, if they are able to sell it to consumers in cities like Mumbai. Currently, they face challenge of expensive transportation cost which adds up while getting their produce to appropriate place.
In addition, there are various challenges are in front of them:
- Confidence of dealing with new entities
- Unable to understand profitability
- Fear of additional cost – such as transportation
We felt that by working with them closely, we can eliminate/ reduce these challenges slowly. One obvious and immediate one was, helping them in reducing a major cost of transportation involved in selling their produce at some other places (other than their doorstep). Hence we discussed this idea with representative farmers from these villages and proposed/ approached our supporting donors. Vastu Housing Finance immediately and wholeheartedly embraced our idea and sponsored a vehicle for this cause.
On 18-Jun-23, we have formally launched this vehicle in village of Khomarpada, which is the most remote and also very forthcoming in experimenting. We have explained working model of the vehicle (on cost-to-cost per kilometer basis) and typically how much of cost saving farmers would be able to achieve, when they use this vehicle. Teacher in our school at Khomarpada, Mr Babu More, has played a very vital role in encouraging these farmers in Khomarpada.
This vehicle would also further be introduced for benefit of farmers from all other villages where Suhrid Foundation is working. Vehicle would be useful for all other work of Suhrid Foundation, reducing cost otherwise spent on transportation. We (also on behalf of beneficiary farmers), wholeheartedly thank Vastu Housing Finance for their support.
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