How CSC Grameen eStore Empower Farmers in Rural India
In Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, a farmers’ collective said with the help of CSC Grameen eStore, they are making thousands of rupees a week in a season when sales are normally zero.
Devgad is a taluka in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra consisting of 98 villages. It is located on the Arabian Sea in the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra. Devgad is known globally for its exports of locally grown Alphonso mangoes. In Devgad CSC VLE Raj Teli is delivering Alphanso mangoes at doorsteps using CSC Grameen e-Store.
VLE Mo. Azad Patel of Gram panchayat Umaria, Ujjain district (Madhya Pradesh) is providing mangoes and other fruits/vegetables through CSC Grameen e-store.
By selling to people instead of main market, farmers said revenues are close to an all-time high. Consumers are adopting online ordering and home delivery through CSC Grameen eStore, transforming old-fashioned farms into consumer-friendly outlets.
“In two or three weeks we accelerated like five to ten years of growth and change in the industry,” said farmer Sudhir from Devgad, Maharashtra.
“I think we are getting a lot of new people into local produce that have never tried buying from their local farmer before.”
Eating local is lauded as a way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of transporting food long distances.
Growers across the country are vulnerable to economic shocks right now because of labour shortages, supply chain disruptions and fluctuating prices linked to the pandemic, farmers in Maharashtra and Gujarat said.
“The beauty of the CSC Grameen app is it allows a farmer to capture the value of their product at a near-to-retail price with the help of VLEs, and so it’s a really attractive option economically for a farmer,” they said.
