Small and marginal farmers often face pressure to sell their produce immediately after harvest, when local market prices are at their lowest. SPS works with women’s SHGs to address this challenge through community-led commodity aggregation, enabling farmers to collectively market their produce in larger markets and negotiate better prices.
A distinctive feature of the programme is that the capital is mobilised largely by the SHGs themselves through bank finance, leveraging their institutional savings and corpus. This makes the initiative community-owned, farmer-driven and financially rooted in local institutions.
The initiative took institutional shape in 2012 with the establishment of Ram Rahim Pragati Producer Company Limited (RRPPCL), an independent Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) promoted by SPS.
Commodity aggregation is therefore not simply a market intervention, it is a model of collective economic empowerment, where farmers use their own institutions, capital and collective strength to secure greater value from their produce.
Empowering Farmers with Technology and Support
