FPO collective asset landscaping

Table of Content:

Who is funding FPOs for purchase of collective assets?

Non-banking financial institutions

• Avanti Finance - 100% digital platform. It provides a white label service to finance providers to collect data, co-create products, and to facilitate transactions. (loan/credit)

  • They worked with SEWA in Bihar to create a credit product that included granularity in its purpose, such as “starting a vegetable stall.”

  • They worked with Ekgaon in Madhya Pradesh to create a credit product for ag financing for individual farmers or working capital loan for FPOs. Ekgaon developed community-based aggregators to start value addition.

• Lendingkart - non-banking financial company provided no collateral loans for individuals, MSMEs/SMEs, and loan products for women. (loans)

  • Women’s World Banking found that Lendingkart’s AI credit model does not exhibit gender bias for loan approval, terms, or repayment rates.

  • MSME / SME loans can be used for operations (buying plant and machinery or opening at a new location), or for working capital and general cash flow. No mention of FPO as MSME/SME.

• Maanaveetaya - Lends to microfinance institutions and development projects, with extensive guardrails regarding sustainability and inclusion.

  • They finance cooperatives and producer orgs (loans)

  • Criteria include benefit to disadvantaged people, economically viable project with appropriate management & leadership, contribute to the advancement of the community, preference to women beneficiaries who can participate in decision-making, ecological parameters

• Jai Kisan - “neo bank” with the Bharat Khata app that provides a one stop solution for financing needs and credit products. Works in value chains of all sizes and with all stakeholders (individuals, businesses, middle men, aggregators, etc.). (credit)

  • Products include “Buy Now, Pay Later” which basically serves like a credit card with an application process and a $ limit. Serves the ag (dairy, poultry, fishery) and manufacturing industries.

  • Supply chain financing gives collateral free credit for businesses; affordable interest rates, revolving credit, and end-to-end tech platform.

• Ananya - goal of serving a a bridge between investors and unbanked populations in India, especially women. Provide microfinance, agriculture lending (capital expenditure and working capital loans), financing for green and impact SMEs, and capacity building. (loans)

  • Ag lending includes 47,000+ farmers and 100+ FPOs.

• Caspian - Indian impact investors on companies that support social or environmental impacts.

  • Equity arm invests through a SME impact fund focused on clean tech, food/ag and small business finance.

  • Debt arm provides quick and term loans for various sectors including food/ag, sustainability, clean tech, livelihoods. (loans)

• Grameen Capital: lend to Agricultural projects which have a clear impact element… it could be improvement of farmer income, it could be reduction in emissions, it could be water conservation, and so on. And part of their cost of lending is borne by large organizations who have a CSR agenda and budget. These organizations achieve their CSR goals, and the Agricultural projects get low cost-funds. Source

   

Non-banking multi-service institutions that provide financial services

• Sammunati - Provides collective loans, aggregation, market linkages, and advisory services to farmer groups. (loans, infrastructure loans)

  • Supports FPOs in sourcing bulk inputs + loans for FPOs to aggregate in bulk.

  • Catalytic infrastructure loan for FPOs to invest in warehouse machinery, equipment, processing units, etc.

  • FPOnEXT product includes pre-sanctioned loans, assessment via grading tools, and access to crop and weather alerts, market prices and call center. Plus tech knowledge via agri universities + KVKs.

• Dehaat - AgTech start-up providing end-to-end solutions to farming communities, including AI -enabled technologies. Work in Bihar, UP, Odisha and WB in India, service 650,000 farmers. (credit, insurance)

  • Credit via microfinance for input purchases in partners with leading agro financing institutions

  • Insurance product development in partnership with leading agro insurance companies

  • Other services include soil testing & health card, inputs, outputs (harvest and market access), yield forecasting, analytics, advisory helpline

• Unnati - provides AI powered tech platform for ag value chain actors. Raised USD $1.7M in pre series round A from Nabventures. Work with FPOs to enable biz expansion via integration of their activities on the tech platform (loans, credit)

  • Banking services for working capital for farmers

  • Agronomy services using soil weather and farming history data.

  • Agri-input services including advisories for planting & input application

  • Output management services to connect to buyers and provide them working capital

Government lenders & Agribanks

• NABARD + Agricultural and Rural Development Banks (ARDBs) - government lending institutions (loans, grants)

  • FPO support via Producer Organization Development Fund: loan-linked grant for promotion, capacity building & market interventions, and grant assistance

• https://www.pmfby.gov.in/ - Gov’t scheme for crop insurance for farmers (insurance). Not a lot of details; seems to be for individuals.

Social Investing, crowdfunding & crowd-lending

• PlusPlus from Solidaridad (refer to in-depth notes from Ashu Plus Plus) - crowdfunding via individual investors to specific ag projects. 400+ investors have invested 540,000 Euro) (loans)

  • The projects are agricultural in nature and involve loans to procure equipment (pumps, tractors, etc.), access to assets (seeds, inputs), or increase production (buy more raw goods from farmers). Recipients include coops and small businesses.

• GiveDirectly - (refer in call notes GiveDirectly ) Crowdfunding via individual investors to a village at a time that is in poverty. Unlike PlusPlus or Kiva, individual investor cannot choose loan recipient as to prevent biases. Since 2009, delivered $550M+ in cash directly to 1.25 million families living in poverty. Operations in Kenya, Rwanda, Liberia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, DRC, Uganda, the United States, and Yemen. (loans)

  • No India or Ethiopia operations FYI

• Kiva - Crowdfunding via individual investors. Loan, not donation. 77 countries, 1.9M lenders and over $1.6B in loans given. (loans)

  • Ag loans focus on assets for individual farmers (buy cattle, feed, etc.). Some loans are to small groups (example: $3000 USD to a group in Senegal to support buy/sell cattle).

  • No India loans made.

• Rang De - Indian P2P lending platform with mission to provide low cost/affordable credit. Funded by angel investors. Not a crowdfunder. Non-banking financial company. (loans)

  • 90% of loan recipients are women. Loan recipients are entrepreneurs & farmers.

  • Investors can invest in funds (example: Akshayakalpa Fund to support an organic dairy farm enterprise.

  • Notes from call with Rang De: Rang De

• EthicHub - Spanish crowd-lending social enterprise that connects small farmers with financing needed to work their land and sell their crops. (loans)

  • Currently in 3 countries only (Mexico, Brazil, Honduras) and have supported 21 communities

  • Recipients are organizations (cooperatives, community groups)

  • Big lenders campaign includes lending on high return projects & investment in specialty coffee

  • Investors can invest in the Ethix Token - buy protection from investment and also governance decision role in EthicHub

• Root Capital - provides finance to agricultural enterprises - $1.6B in 20 years loaned to ag enterprises worldwide. (Refer to notes from call with Root Capital Root Capital) (loans)

  • Model includes affordable financing to underserved enterprises/SMEs/coops, enterprise capacity to access and manage credit, blended financing models for early-stage + risk mgmt, and demonstrate proven models to strengthen the ag finance sector.

  • Not in India or Ethiopia; yes in Kenya. Need in-country partner to open operations in a country

  • Also work in climate action & gender equity

• Milaap - Indian crowdfunding platform. Includes campaigns on rural development and agriculture. (donation)

  • Example: A campaign asked for funds = Rs 500 would create 1 acre of viable horticulture (drip irrigation, land prep, saplings).

  • Lending to farmer groups is available, including group buy of inputs.

• Catapoolt - Indian crowdfunding platform. Seems to be more for development of new ideas. (donation)

  • Rongo Reaper campaign focuses on developing a crop trimmer.

• Give India - Fundraising platform for NGOs, medical emergencies and social causes. (donation)

  • Center for Sustainable Agriculture uses it to raise forms to benefit 5000 farmers and 25 FPOs under the product brand Sahaja Aharam. They provide call center, technical assistance, IT platform with end-to-end farming assistance, organic certification, training, and a FPO hub, but no financing.

• FarmFundr - US based farmer-owned crowdfunding platform focused on specialty crops operations in the US. Investors can profit from crop sales and also from land appreciation. (investment)

• GivingPi: “At the current rate of social impact, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved until 2094, 64 years after the deadline of 2030. To accelerate India’s journey towards achieving these SDG’s, leading philanthropists and Dasra have come together to launch GivingPi - India’s first and exclusive family philanthropy network. This invite-only network is being launched in August, and is focused on growing the ecosystem of family philanthropy for a transformed India, where a billion thrive with dignity and equity. By 2030, GivingPi aims to have 5,000 members, annually giving $1 billion to diverse social causes in India. The network is committed to creating a vibrant community of family givers by supporting them on their giving journey, nurturing collaboration and growing family philanthropy, for an inclusive India.” (donation)

Development agencies, foundations, & donors

• TechnoServe - development NGO with presence in India (tech assistance, links to finance)

  • Walmart-funded project will facilitate access to finance and post-harvest/storage solutions for FPOs. Will impact 25-30 FPOs and 25,000 farmers (50% women) in AP and Uttar Pradesh.

  • Other projects in India seem to be about FPO strengthening + technical assistance and women FPO empowerment, but without clear information if this includes access to finance for collective assets.

  • Refer to notes from Coffee Initiative Technoserve Coffee Initiative

• S3IDF

• Heifer International - development NGO working in the US and globally

  • Heifer USA’s Equipment Loan Program lends farmers the equipment they need to make necessary and critical improvements to their operations. Coupled with the training Heifer USA offers and the depth of knowledge our staff can share this program allows farmers to fully utilize high-end equipment in the most successful manner possible. Without the financial burdens of purchasing the equipment themselves, farmers can decide for themselves the best and right times to use such equipment and determine if such technologies are a worthwhile investment for their business down the road. (tech assistance, equipment loan)

  • Heifer Impact Capital - is a global impact private investor focused on pro-poor wealth creation. Using a variety of investment vehicles to generate impact and positive financial returns, it provides affordable investment capital to farmers and cooperatives supported by Heifer International (loans, guarantees, credit, working capital)

    • Building a $100m fund with investors who are looking to support the kind of farmers that Heifer works with and that are looking for some kind of return with some structured guarantees (TBD what that % and duration is but might be 5-10 year).

    • They haven't figured out mix of debt & equity that they want to do, or impact reporting requirements but said they're looking to make investments of ~$1m to intermediary orgs that forward them on to farmer groups that have capital needs

    • Their priority areas are livestock (esp. poultry) & women, as well as power, water & internet access in rural areas (so liked the solar refrigerator example for farmer groups)

    • They'll be wrapping up their analysis to come up with a plan by Oct and have 1 fund manager, and said will circle back.

• IFPRI Picture Based Crop Insurance project - insurance for individual farmers via smartphone photos that verify damages/losses to crops in a low cost manner and that can integrate crop advisories. (insurance)

  • Testing in India, Kenya and Ethiopia!

  • Can facilitate insurance, seeds or credit, on smallholder farmers’ productivity, welfare and resilience, while paying attention to mechanisms through which the technology can reduce—rather than aggravate—inequity and gender gaps.

  • Partners include BISA, Dvara, KALRO, Acre Africa, CABI, EIAR, and various universities, as well as https://www.hdfcergo.com/

    • PMFBY scheme is for financial support to farmers

    • Seems to be for individual farmers, not collectives/FPOs

• Rabo Foundation - strengthen farmer organization and social enterprises through impact funding (loans, credit)

  • Collaboration with USAID and US Int’ll Development Finance Corporation to support 220,000 smallholder farmers with financing (inputs) and agtech startups (incl. storage)

Case Study: USAID Naatal Mbay project in Senegal

• RTI 2015-2019

• Agricultural leasing program: https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TRQD.pdf

  • Appetite of big foundations for alternate financing solutions; and potential to tap into them to create an initial portfolio guarantee mechanism for establishing credibility for faster take-off

  • Paygo/leasing vs. loans: asset security for easier guarantee + biz mindset of repayment vs. hassle of managing assets & ownership transfer

  • Importance of local financial player - LOC AFRIQUE - buying agri equipment and leasing them out on a rent-to-own model

  • Challenge to access credit lines with low interest rates

  • Leasing portfolio size/growth not very high in fourth year of program (pg 10)

  • Extension of program to smallholders: Senegal national agri bank/CNCAS was opening a leasing desk for smaller producers in the south w/ minimum threshold of US$ 10k that they considered necessary to make leasing profitable. 

• DLEC in-depth extension assessment report covered Naatal Mbay. Page 29:

  • Another promising use of ICT is that of Naatal Mbay, which has pioneered the use of tablets and smart phones to help POs collect, analyze and use information for farmers to improve the productivity of their farms and to access services. Originally working with producer networks on basic digital data literacy, Naatal Mbay supported farmers to collect and analyze production data Developing Local Extension Capacity 30 using well known software applications such as Excel, Word, and Dropbox. Subsequently, Naatal Mbay piloted the introduction of digital technologies by leveraging Dimagi’s CommCare health sector data collection system, well known in Senegal. Naatal Mbay worked with Dimagi to adapt the smartphone app to the agricultural sector, resulting in the CommAgri app. At the center of the effort, the data bases are owned and managed by farmer organizations and give information to actors at different scales (e.g., to the farmer on plot and farm performance (cultivated area, yields/ha, profitability) and to the PO and networks of POs on their performance (quantities produced and marketed, produce quality indicators)). Farmers and their organizations use these data in negotiating with input providers and produce buyers/processors; this information helps secure lower prices for inputs and higher prices for produce than would otherwise be the case. Even more promising, accurate data about their enterprises helps farmers and POs access other services, such as credit from banks and crop insurance from insurance providers. Some organizations are earning money training other organizations on how to collect and use data to improve their farm enterprises (IRG, 2015b; IRG, 2016a). 

• Agrilinks has a few interesting write ups about their work, refer to the one about un-blocking finance for farmers: https://www.agrilinks.org/activities/feed-future-senegal-naatal-mbay

Collective assets definitions

FAO case study on SEWA notes that they are support women organizations access productive assets and self-manage their organizations (committees, groups, cooperatives). SEWA facilitates capital formation through asset ownership and access to financial services (savings, insurance, credit). Social and productive assets (seeds, fertilizer, land, finance, equipment) reduce vulnerability to shocks (resilience). (Refer to notes from call with SEWA SEWA (CIFAR project) )

Tamil Nadu case study organic farming by the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems defines assets are:

IFPRO study on Gender, Assets, and Agricultural Development Programs defines assets are listed below and also benefits of productive assets for women:

These different forms of asset holdings have been categorized as (for our purposes, those in red):

• natural resource capital: land, water, trees, genetic resources, soil fertility

• physical capital: agricultural and business equipment, houses, consumer durables, vehicles and transportation, water supply and sanitation facilities, and communications infrastructure

• human capital: education, skills, knowledge, health, nutrition; these are embodied in the labor of individuals

• financial capital: savings, credit, and inflows (state transfers and remittances)

• social capital: membership in organizations and groups, social and professional networks

• political capital: citizenship, enfranchisement, and effective participation in governance.2

Collective approaches not a panacea; need to pay attention to factors affecting collective action when group-based approaches are used.

Key learnings from research on climate and FPO financing

(Conducted by Strategy Officer candidate)

a.     Access to market and finance is key to mobilize sustainable and climate resilient agriculture. Currently, smallholder farmers in India lack the incentives to adopt sustainable practices given the risks involved. Access to finance and markets through farmer groups, collectives and coops can offset some of this economic uncertainty and may motivate farmers to adopt more sustainable practices.

b.     Banks are risk averse post pandemic which may lead to them diverting their investments to less risky assets away from farm/agri investments. Institutions funding sustainable farming projects can now access capital markets through ESG dedicated funds in the form of investments, bonds or through secondary markets to enhance liquidity. This trend has been increasing as seen in examples like Grameen Impact Fund.

c.     In addition to access to finance, aggregator models involving farmer coops or FPOs can provide small holder farmers the access to alternative modes of marketing. Small holder farmers are often restricted in their capacity to reach a larger market and have limited access to customized solutions. Therefore, directing funds towards collectives could be more beneficial.

d.      However, it is also important to emphasize on two things while funding farmer coops or FPOs in India-i) which stage they are in (early stage, emerging/growing stage or matured/expansion stage), and ii) how the money would be used. This is crucial because FPOs in different stages of their existence have different funding requirements that need to be catered to. For instance, an early stage FPOs may require funds to set up, training and system development, while growing stage FPOs need it for working capital and matured FPOs need funding to sustain and grow. Different needs would mean different modes of funding and hence needs should be appropriately identified.

e.     It is also important to highlight that FPOs often function like small businesses and hence require continued flow of finance for different needs through the course of their functioning. It has been seen that often funds help FPOs in increasing membership but given their limited ability to expand, most FPOs fail to grow sustainably. 

f.      Some challenges FPOs and farmer collectives face include (but not limited to):

• Farmer coops with existing loans & no collateral find it hard to get more funding from traditional banks.

• Banks have limited experience in dealing with FPOs as they are traditionally lend to small farmers.

• It is difficult to meet immediate cash needs and most disbursements take time.

• Therefore, an alternate access to finance and markets is the need of the hour.

 g.     It is also seen that farmer groups/coops have helped female small holder farmers who face multiple challenges including farm size, low literacy, lack of bargaining power, and illegality of land tenancy in some cases. Funding from FPOs have proven to help women farmers and therefore directing funds towards collectives can aid in bridging the gender gap in agriculture while also mobilizing climate resilient agricultural practices.

h.     Policy level: Detailed taxonomy of guidelines is crucial to ensure that the green financing/investments meets its intended goals towards the sustainable production and climate resilience. SEBI guidelines do not provide detailed principles to decide whether investments are leading to the intended impact. The Government of India’s Sustainable Finance Task Force is working towards laying these detailed principles down for future investments.

Finally on best practices, Acumen India with Rabo Foundation have recommended the following:

1.  Developing context and feasible climate impact frameworks by defining the key measures of impact and charting impact measurement frameworks for different business models to support FPOs in different stages.

2. Directing patient capital towards early-stage enterprises to ensure increased membership in FPOs along with longevity. Investing in farm-centric models and innovative financing can improve farmer resilience and contribute to better outcomes.

3. Supporting capacity building through incubator and accelerator programs is crucial to facilitate knowledge creation, mentorship, value creation, and equitable collaboration leading to systemic change and ecosystem strengthening.

Scope of landscaping reseach

1. Do collective assets work or not? Is it true that capital towards collective assets is actually effective? (without the issue of commons) 

2. What should be collective assets? (income generating be collective assets?) 

3. If collective assets, then what kind of collective assets actually work? (e.g., ALC said retail outlets) - can we develop a list of types of collective assets  

4. How are these investments packaged? 

5. Who are the players that actually provide these finds of funding? (e.g., give directly? KIVA? TechnoServe? USAID? Apparently IRRI, CIMMYT has done stuff like this, happy seeder work?) 

6. What have we learned from their experience?