Helping farmers move from subsistence to commercial agriculture

Abstract

Marginal farmers form the majority of all farmers in India. They are mostly involved in subsistence agriculture owing to lower productivity of land, lack of access to markets and agricultural inputs. Also, a lower output makes it harder for them to cover overhead costs that come with marketing of produce. As a result the farmers are stuck with limited knowledge and are unable to reap the full potential of their land.

We analyzed the various activities being carried out by organizations such as Pradan, Syngenta, BASIX, ITC and BAIF to come up with a model to help farmers move from subsistence to commercial agriculture providing them with livelihood opportunities and non-farming source of incomes.

It has been noted that the marginal farmers are not only in need of basic input facilities but also to understand how they can completely extract value from their farms.