Market access and aggregate sale through value chain in agri-produce: The role of community owned women association

Abstract

Gram Abhyudaya Mandali (GRAM) functions as the parent NGO, conceptualizes the requirement of social and economic development of rural poor women through self-help groups. It conceptualizes, the idea of Aggregate Sell Model for its members, endeavors to create a successful platform by collective pooling and marketing and the sale of its agricultural commodities (like Soya, Paddy, and Maize), by surpassing local mediators transparently using technology. This model benefits its women service members (around 50,000) through 20 Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies (MACS) located across villages in tribal districts of Nizamabad and Adilabad of Telangana, India. The methodology adopted for research study is based on Focused Group Discussions (FGDs). FGDs were conducted and the results were analyzed. Results showed that elimination of intermediaries and adopting transparent process facilitated profitability to the members of the society. The contribution of the study is to elevate the ‘Collective Sale’ (through community owned hub point for its agricultural products), that is uniquely adopted by GRAM. This model could be either adopted or modified to other societies that are operational in rural/semi- urban areas.