International Organic Agriculture Seminar October 21 & 22 - 2019, Araucanía, Chile

Enabling small holder farmers in India to engage in the market and value chain from a position of

strength

Manisha Kairaly

Director – Enterprise Development and Design

The Timbaktu Collective

It’s a good life 5 minute film

• https://youtu.be/53fHG-JOl_A

LIFE, WE CELEBRATE YOU

• In put heavy – seed, fertilizer, pesticide

• Low crop diversity

• Erratic weather patterns

• Increasing desertification

• Rural migration

Farming in our region

What are the main hurdles • Illiteracy • Drought and climate crisis • Caste and gender • Mono culture and cash cropping • Lack of capital –infrastructure, labour, machinery • Unavailability of credit and increased

indebtedness • Exploitative practices of private traders and local

mill owners • Increased exposure to market risk and varying

trade policies • No access to a growing organic food market

What did a rural person in Rayalaseema need to buy that was produced elsewhere, 50 years ago?

1. Camphor

2. Coffee / Tea

3. Brass utensils

4. Turmeric

5. Salt

6. Medicines (rarely)

Lets have a look at products now required by rural people – but not produced in the

villages

• Tooth paste

• Tooth brush

• Shampoo

• Soap

• Laundry soap

• Combs

• T shirts

• Shirts

• Sarees

• Skirts

• Footwear

• Towels

• Bed sheets

• Door mats

• Mats

• Blankets

• Cooking utensils

• Medicines

• Baby food

• Junk food

• Coffee

• Tea

• Sugar

• Rice

• Pulses

• Oil

• Brooms

• Books

• Pens

• Pencils

• Cell phones

• Camera

• Ghee

• Cooking gas

• Cosmetics

• Toys

• Plastic plates

• Plastic cups

• Home utensils

• Cement

• Paint

• Bulbs

• Children’s clothing

• Nappies

• Sanitary pads

• Pesticides

• Fertilisers

• Pesticides

• Seeds

• Saplings

• Petrol

• Diesel

• Bikes

• Cars

……………..

So what happened ?

• Indian industry came of age and discovered that waste petrochemical industry had a lot to offer;

• Plastic, fertilisers, pesticides, medicine, beauty products, processed foods, industrial agriculture, etc;

• Production of finished products moved away from the villages;

• Livelihood opportunities began to reduce;

• Rural areas became active providers of unskilled labour, raw material and natural resources – wood, water, unprocessed food, etc;

• Aspirations of the growing population of young people began to change as different marketing strategies began to be aimed at rural consumers;

• Farmer suicides began to increase;

• Rural consumption became increasingly passive & increasingly choice less.

Rice

We work with 20,000 families

• 1 family purchases 4 kgs rice per month;

• 1 kg rice = 599 Peso* 4 kgs = 2396 pesos per month;

• 2396 pesos * 12 months = 28,752 pesos per year;

• Total = 28, 752 pesos per family, per year;

• 28, 752 * 20,000 families = 575,040,000 pesos per year.

575,040,000 pesos from a small part of a district that has 9,68,000 families from of ONE state!

We work with 20,000 families

Soap

228,041,862 pesos

Cotton fabric

259,707,965 pesos

This money is being drained from an already resource poor region to large

companies that control trade.

What if we make this money stay within the village economy?

And come back to the producers?

Is there a way to reimagine partnerships

and markets?

How are we navigating the market and what values do we hold close to our

heart?

Our value proposition is

“enhancing livelihoods of

smallholder farmers through ecological farming”

Ethical business principles

• Transparency

• Correct weights

• Fair price and also a premium to market price

Cooperative models as a base

• Thrift and savings

• Easily accessible loans and capital

• Community mobilization

Producer friendly certifications

• PGS

• Volunteer support

• Community and trust building

Bring back production to villages

Timbaktu Organic

Timbaktu weaves

Producers as Directors AND Shareholders

Pick quality over quantity

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2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

Labour days created

Contribution to local economy

Focus on rural AND urban markets

• Targeted at local markets in the Anantapuramu

• participation in organic fairs, bazaars and food festivals

• Expansion to urban retailers

• Established first own rural retail shop

Recipe film 3 minutes

https://youtu.be/XjEKrv9k31c

Timbaktu

Organic

products are

consumed by

around 45,000

+ eaters

Farmer-owned

Cooperative

High customer loyalty

and trust in products

Annual Revenue is

around ₹ 3.5 crores

251 retailers

98 PGS certified products

65 Ready to cook and

ready to eat products

South India’s leading

supplier - Organic Cold

pressed Groundnut oil

Widest range of millet

varieties

Rural market – The Timbaktu Shop

PROUDLY RURAL

• 151,000 USD sales in one year

• 78% are local customers within 60 km radius

• Village sales point of food, fabrics and soap

Try to find the ‘right price’

• For producer

• For value addition

• For consumer

• For the environment

Dharani pays

₹ 52 to the farmer for

procuring 1.6 kilos of Korra

(52% of MRP goes to Farmer)

Dharani keeps

₹ 23 for processing

expenses for every kilo of Korra Rice

(23% of MRP goes to Dharani)

Retailers pay

₹ 75 to Dharani and keep a

margin of ₹ 25 for every kilo of Korra Rice

(25% of MRP goes to Retailer)

Consumers Pay

₹100 per kilo of Korra Rice

(Foxtail Millet)

Prices of Timbaktu Organic products

are lowest among the organic players

in the country

Give TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) it’s due importance

Understand aspirations

Believe that conscious consumers are our best ambassadors

The big question:

How do we enable small holder farmers in India to engage in the market and value chain from a

position of strength?

CREATE

CHOICE for the choiceless and a VOICE for the voiceless

Thank you!