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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/peer-to-peer-lending-india-farmers-artisans-entrepreneurs/>
"Venkatamma and Vijayalakshmi are women farmers from Mahboobnagar in the south
Indian state of Telangana, considered one of the poorest regions of India.
Farmers here grow a variety of crops, from grains and lentils to cotton and
chilis, but have always been dependent on loans to buy seeds and fertilizers
before crop season, and occasionally even for everyday subsistence during times
of drought or crop failure. For a long time, their only source for such loans
were local moneylenders, who charged anywhere from 36 to 60 percent as
interest.
Farmers like them all over India spend their entire lives in debt, just paying
back the interest on miniscule loans.
Venkatamma and Vijayalakshmi are now directors at the farmers services producer
company they set up along with other marginalized farmers in 2012 to eliminate
middlemen from the sale process. These cooperatives buy directly from small
farmers and sell at market rates, and also procure seeds and fertilizers at
wholesale prices for the community.
These farmers were able to make it out of the exploitative system with
financial support from Rang De, a peer-to-peer lending platform, through their
former local partner Access Livelihoods Consulting India, a social enterprise
working in the Telangana region. Thanks to these farmer cooperatives, hundreds
of small farmers in the region are now out of the debt trap, and able to get
fair prices for their produce."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
