Sustainable Partnerships - Partnerships among Small Farmers for Sustainable Livelihoods

Summary

The world is growing in disparity. This is particularly true among the developing countries of the world where there is a large proportion of small farmers. In the case of India, the reducing farm sizes and the effects of climate change adversely affect the incomes of small farmers in particular.
To reduce such disparity, there is a need to promote small-scale technologies and businesses systems that are simple, affordable, provides for better income distribution, and builds self-respect. This paper presents a case of the farmers producer company (otherwise known as a farmers cooperative) where mainly women farmers from a semi-arid region use small-scale technologies at their homesteads and at their homes to produce organic inputs and organic foods and markets these produce at local and domestic markets. Besides definite advantages of individual farmers from their own enterprises, the business systems and the strategies followed ensure that there are gains in the participation as a group and encourage contribution to farmer communities involved and other stakeholders.