SDG
Alignment
Timeline
2019- present
Location
Maharashtra, India
Sector
Skilling & Education, Agriculture, Start Up
Participants of APG’s Skilling Initiative launch their own Agri Start Up
In 2019, PMKVY 2.0 (Special Agri Project Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Mission Maharashtra Agriculture Skill Development Programme), facilitated and implemented by two of AP Globale’s portfolio companies, Palladium India and SIMACES Learning LLP, conducted a training program in Kolgaon (Tal. Georgi, Dist. Beed), where farmers participated in group farming practices. Attending the training to be certified under the RPL job role of ‘Group Farming Practitioners’, 4 of the trainees from Kolgaon subsequently established their own farmer group and registered a Farmer Producer Company (FPC), which will serve the common interest of company members. Today, Navchetana Agro Producer Company Ltd. has been registered as a result of the efforts of the trainees and their intentions to work together towards the establishment of a dal mill and Agri inputs shop that serves farmers in the neighboring areas.
The Challenge
In the district of Kolgaon in the state of Maharashtra, some of the lead farmers had previously been engaged to group farming practices and were aware of its many benefits, but sufficient knowledge and training were not existent. The realization that group farming was the need of the hour and would path the way to sustainable farming and secure income, led the farmers to participate in the training program organized by SIMACES Learning LLP and the Government
"Group farming is need of the hour, and it is critical that all farmers engage in group farming activities to make agriculture sustainable and competitive.."
Sudhakar Phate – Founder of Navchetana Agro Producer Company Ltd.
Implementation
The group farming training intervention has been designed to include 11 touchpoints across 3-day orientation training (conducted between 30th January – 01st February 2019) and bridge training (conducted between 04th February – 10th March 2019).
The orientation training introduced the participating farmers to the concepts of:
- Farmer groups and group farming practices
- Farmer producer companies
- Management of farmer groups and FPCs
- Potential process industries and sources of market information
- Modern techniques for crop and post-harvest management
The farmers that had been previously engaged in group farming practices were also satisfied that they were able to upgrade and enrich their knowledge of group farming practices, which they believe would complement their experience and allow them to increase their income further. The 4 trainees, listed above, have been motivated by the training intervention to combine their experience, expertise, and knowledge gained through group farming training, and generate higher returns from their produce. One of the decisions the trainees have taken after completion of training is to form a group of 10 members and form an FPC focusing on the processing of Pigeon Pea (Dal/Tur mill).
The training intervention and regular interactions with like-minded have enabled the trainees to effectively communicate the training learnings with others in Kolgaon and motivate them to engage in group farming practices as well.
Outcome
Navchetana Agro Producer Company Ltd. is a result of such motivated efforts of the trainees and 10 members of the company have decided to contribute 2-acre land for cultivation of organic toor (Pigeon Pea), which will then be processed by the company. The farmers are planning to harvest toor without the use of any chemical fertilizers or pesticides to enhance the quality of the produce, and subsequently the processed produce. However, dal processing is not the only aim of Navchetaana Agro Producer Company Ltd. as the trainees are also aiming to make affordable Agri inputs available to farmers in the region. The trainees have observed that the unavailability of affordable fertilizers and other inputs is one of the major challenges faced by farmers, despite its availability at much cheaper rates at the wholesale level. There are 3 such input stores are operational in Maharashtra through FPCs, which provide affordable inputs to the farmers by selling Agri inputs with lower profit margins. The company aims to operate on similar terms to resolve this challenge and sell the inputs with only 5% profit to make them more affordable for the farmers.