A few years ago, women farmers from Himachal Pradesh’s Solan development block became the first of their kind to switch to non-chemical, low-cost and climate resistant farming. They trained under the state government’s Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y), and today are transformed from farmers to entrepreneurs. The agro-marketing company is called Farmer Producer Company (FPC) and it is promotes the use and purchase of certified chemical-free natural produce.
The company includes women from districts like Jabal Jamrot, Haripur and Deothi districts of Solan and has 10 primary shareholders, along with 60 more women farmers who are keen to venture into the space. The women offer vegetables, fruits and milk products.
There are 60 women farmers are matric pass and believe that a shift from chemical-laden farming to a natural alternative is the first step in saving the agriculture from increased expenditure and the spread of diseases.
So far, Himachal Pradesh has successfully set up four other food produce companies in Chopal, Pachhad and Karsog that work tirelessly to make sustainable food systems platform the norm in farming.
The downside? These women are made to sell their produce in the normal vegetable markets (mandis), individually, at the same price. “If we do the marketing collectively through an FPC, we can find out specific buyers for the natural produce and negotiate the price,” Seema, the Pradhan of Jabal Jhamlot Panchayat who is also on the Board of Directors of the FPC, told another publication.
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