Breaking Barriers Unlocking Value in the Groundnut Value Chain for Small Farmers
Breaking Barriers Unlocking Value in the Groundnut Value Chain for Small Farmers
Authors : Ashutosh Deshpande, Bharat Patel, Dilip Bayal
To empower a community is to help them
gain more agency over their lives and
decisions they make. For many farmers in
India, structural barriers such as lack of
market options often inhibit them from
exercising their choice. Breaking such barriers
and empowering the community requires
creative thinking and consistency. The
FPC’s foray into processing groundnut and
producing oil is a unique case of using a value
chain approach to break down structural
barriers and empower the farmers in the
market.
Jasdan, where Saurashtra FPC is located, is a
small municipality, located in Rajkot district
of Gujarat. Like the rest of the district,
Jasdan is a semi-arid area, receiving an average rainfall of 590 mm annually, over 28 days.
Rajkot has irrigation penetration at 38% of gross cropped area; but Jasdan has very little
access to it. Situated at a higher altitude than the rest of the district, this region has very
sparse ground water levels and negligible canal irrigation Monsoons, that are supposed
to arrive in June, are often delayed by a month, and there are frequent dry spells during
monsoon. Additionally, cyclonic weather coupled with inopportune heavy rains late in the
season in October is another phenomenon. Day temperatures can fl uctuate between 3°C in
winters to 44°C in summers.
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