Member-based smallholder farmers collectives (SHFC) helps a proven pathway to successfully deal with a range of challenges that confront today, especially small producers. Overcoming the constraints imposed by the small size of their individual farms, SHFC members are able to leverage collective strength and bargaining power to access inputs, services and appropriate technologies, reduce transaction costs, tap high-value markets and enter into partnerships with entities for a larger gain. With fragmented small landholdings, smallholder farmers collectives offer a form of aggregation regardless of land titles with individual producers and use the strength of collective planning for production and marketing to add value to members’ produce.

Barmadi is one of the villages of Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the people. Barmadi is one of the adopted villages among five (5) by Smallholder Adaptive Farming and Bio-diversity Network (SAFBIN) program implemented by Caritas India through its implementing partner Manav Vikas Seva Sangh (MVSS) Sagar. The program has helped smallholders to form three (3) smallholder farmer’s collectives to learn and share their challenges as well as the exchange of knowledge for their improvement. Due to Covid-19 and its subsequent lockdown, smallholder faced multiple challenges that not limited to harvesting and marketing of their farm produces but need more mouth to feed at homes and employment for themselves who returns to their homes.

We were literally hopeless due to subsequent lockdown. Everything was closed at that time and we had to remain in our homes. There was no scope of any sort of employment or labour work. We had a meeting in our village and discussed the issue on how to deal with the situation. Said by Veer Singh, SHFC member, Barmadi.

To deal with it, representatives of the SHFC came together to discuss and find out an appropriate solution. While mapping farm resources and opportunities available at their level, dairy was found to be a suitable alternative as almost 20 small farm households are having @ 2-3 diary animal at home. A separate coordination team was formed by the representatives to explore collaboration opportunities and could approach Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Dairy Federation popularly known as “Sanchi Diary” in coordination with local SAFBIN team members. The coordination team later became the “collection sammittee” and appointed one of the SHFC members as their point person who will lead and coordinate the collection of milk.

We successfully approached Sanchi Diary through a collective effort to sale our surplus milk with the support of our SAFBIN team. It was a breakthrough for us and saved our family. Said Sunil Kumar, SHFC member of Barmadi

A collection point was identified by the collection samiti and decided to collect their surplus quantity there every day. An average of 60 litres of milk is being collected by these 20 small farm families every day. The rate of the milk per litre is being tested and decided on the basis of lactometer reading and the total amount is paid through account transfer once in a week. The approach adopted by the SHFC members has moved up milk production to a feasible level and as a result, they have been earning a regular income of Rs. 68,200 by selling around 1800 litres of fresh milk per month collectively. As of now, they have sold almost 9000 litres of milk to MP State Cooperative Dairy Federation @ 60 litres per day and received more than 3 lakh rupees. The community-owned business model has not only provided an opportunity to upscale the dairy subsector but has also enabled smallholders to earn a respectable income and helped them to become self-sufficient.

We don’t need to go to the market, the collection team of Sanchi Diary used to come every day to collect the milk from our village. We are so glad that, we could add an additional income even during this pandemic. SAFBIN has helped us in many ways. Said by Rajiv Gujjar, SHFC member of Barmadi.

Smallholder Adaptive Farming and Biodiversity Network (SAFBIN) is a program aimed to ensure local food and nutritional security of the marginalised farming community with integrated and improved farm component contributing to SDG-2. The program is co-funded by Caritas Switzerland and Caritas Austria and implemented by Caritas India through hits implementing partner organisations Manav Vikas Seva Sangh (MVSS) Sagar and Jabalpur Diocesan Social Service Societies (JDSSS) Mandla in 25 villages of Mandla, Sagar and Vidisha districts of Madhya Pradesh.