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Primary Stakeholders, who we need to take an active approach with in the near term
Farmers/FPOs - Farmer Groups: The direct beneficiaries of this work, and central to the vision and long-term success. Including Velugu There is a lot of momentum around FPOs and we plan to work with them but open to working with less formal groups of farmers as well (eg, KRSS who we supported on direct customer sales Sep 2020)
Resource Institutions: Orgs that provide hand holding and capacity building to FPOs. High level there are “private” NGOs that do this like Velugu, Jattu and Garmodya (in AP), IDF (in Karnataka), SkillgreenReliance Foundation, etc.
Capacity Building Organizations - Entities that directly support FPOs and farmers, who can help bring elements of the vision to life and positively impact farmers. Include NABARD, VAMNICOM,
Market Access Partners - Those who would be able to created There are also government providers, especially State Level Rural Livelihood Missions (who we also partner with on video based extension) who are building upon the SHG structure and often provide funding support to FPOs as well.
Also include NAFPO which is a federation of FPOs here as well.
Service Providers - Organizations that deliver better tailored products for farmers through access to more farmer-level data, building the flywheel of systems improvement. Including, Waycool, Grow Indigo, etcThere are digital first orgs like Waycool (procurement), Samunnati (finance), Kalgudi (marketing), BigHaat (inputs) and local traders, input dealers and service providers as well.
Unrestricted Donors - Broader supporters of the vision, who can fund activities ranging from tech stack development, to FPO/Farmer outreach and engagement, to partner development. Including, BMGF, Walmart, Rippleworks, HNWIs, etc.
Secondary Stakeholders, who we need to keep in mind in the longer term
Govt partners at the ecosystem level incl NABARD, SFAC, Ministry of Cooperatives. This group provides funding for FPOs and as we have something concrete, can become an effective channel to scale our solution.
Subject Matter Experts - Those who are contributing insights and knowledge to the vision shaping and its success, or are involved in related research (e.g., pest/disease surveillance, crop/livestock/climate modeling), but aren’t directly invested in the outcome. Including, Emmanuel Murray, Prof. Shambu Prasad, CIMMYT, UC Davis, etc.
Tech/Development Community - Broader set of stakeholders that we want to bring along the journey with us, to position DG as a thought leader, and continue to build a network of potential partners.
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Right now, small-scale producers in India face numerous barriers to increased productivity and improved livelihoods. Access to inputs such as capital, seeds, and fertilizer can be few and far between. Yield estimations and extension information can prove unreliable, reducing or even ruining yields. And single farmers have little leverage to negotiate prices with larger buyers.
Underlying this is a data problem. Currently, farmer data is collected in silos, often without transparency as to what is being collected and why. Data is also often re-collected for each use, from plot boundaries, to yield, wasting valuable time. This lack of a holistic view on a farmers operation limits productivity, power, and profits.
That’s where Digital Green sees opportunity: Farmers are cash poor, but data rich. We’re working to digitize farmer data and networks with a model that puts farmers interests first.
Our vision of a Farmer Data Network is a distributed network of farmers able to monetize and leverage their own data to access customized services for increased agency, incomes and enhanced livelihood – combined with an interconnected and decentralized network of support services, information, suppliers, buyers and actors that meet the needs of farming households.
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We do NOT want to create a “super-app” which becomes a gatekeeper to which service providers farmers can access. Rather, we want to put farmers in a position where they own/control their data and have agency to use it with whatever service providers deliver them the most value. |
A before and after farmer journey is outlined here, that outlines a specific use case and impact of realizing this vision.
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) are especially well placed to play a critical role in digitizing farmer groups, as their core functions such as group buying for better input prices, would be improved with this data.
*Point on how we will work toward it… (post on DFN components here)To realize this vision, need to move ahead on three fronts which are further detailed here:
Technology product: What are the tools that FPOs use to capture and view data, where is it stored, how is it shared, etc.
Commercialization: How do we drive adoption in the real world? Partner strategy, farmer on-boarding, Digital Literacy, Entry Point use case all fit here
Economic and Governance model: what entity is providing these services, how is it funded, what does farmer “ownership” mean practically
*Point on support needed form potential partners…
*Point on what progress/milestones look like…
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