1. New Business Models
Demand Aggregation and Services for Smallholders
Examples
Aanand Kumar
Kathmandu
Jan 23, 2013

2. 10 Minute Agenda
• Why Smallholders
• Why Aggregation
• Examples of Work Done

3. Why Smallholders?
• Comprise “90% plus” of rural households in EUP,
Bihar and Odisha
• Main focus of donors – small farmers
• Cannot negotiate – give the maximum margins
• Most value conscious
• Generally left out by all agencies
• Maximum market available here

4. Rural Households Vs Land Operated
Resource Poor Farmers
Aggregation of Households
Land
Aggregation of Land

5. Why Smallholders?
• Comprise “90% plus” of households in EUP, Bihar
and Odisha
• Main focus of donors – small farmers
• Cannot negotiate – give the maximum margins
• Most value conscious
• Generally left out by all agencies
• Maximum market available here

7. Why Smallholders and Aggregation?
• Comprise “90% plus” of households in EUP,
Bihar and Odisha
• Main focus of donors – small farmers
• Cannot negotiate – give the maximum margins
• Most value conscious
• Generally left out by agencies
• Maximum market/ scale up opportunities here
• Aggregation leads to “profitable businesses”

8. Examples
• Service Provider – Laser Leveller - EUP
• PACS – Noorpur Bet, Ladowal, Punjab
• Digital Green – Aggregation and Servicing

9. Example 1: Smallholder Aggregators

10. Service Provider – Laser Leveller - EUP
• Clients spread over 100 km range  loss of income in season;
• Recovering fees difficult. 8% held by large/ small recalcitrant farmers.
Subsidy?
• Initial hub support  put off salary and alone. Limited influence.
Intimidated to independently hold meetings in new villages for publicity.
• Flatly interested in servicing large farmers - can work on large areas,
get paid in bulk, fewer hassles, primarily cash crops.
• Finds demand aggregation and fee collection weak areas in his
business model.
• Willing to share 10-20% margin with any intermediary that helps him in
aggregation of demand, fee collection and growth.

11. Service Provider – Laser Leveller - EUP
Demand Demand Aggregation
LL Service
LL Service
Farmer Farmer
Service Provider
Fees
Fees Aggregation
LARGE LANDHOLDER FOCUS SMALL LANDHOLDER FOCUS

12. Demand Aggregation: NGO-CSISA
Village Numbers Problem in specific Demand Opinion of Conclusio
Name of area estimation Villagers n
audience (acres)
Nagwa 28 Undulating Land 8.21 Acre They want to apply Potential
(GDS) and small land new technology in
holdings and flood the field after
demonstration
Belauhi 18 5 acre Less
(GDS) Potential
Shivkot 17 Undulating Land 13 acre More
(GDS) potential
Ridhiapadi 9 8.13 acre More
(GDS) potential
34 acres

14. GDS supported Lehra Agro Producer Company Limited board, led by its
Chairman Mr. Lalman Yadav

15. Example 2: Smallholder Aggregators
PACS, Noorpur Bet, Ladowal, Punjab

17. PACS – Noorpur Bet, Ladowal, Punjab
• Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society
• Currently at a profit of Rs.35,00,000
• 6 villages – reaches out to approximate 1000 households
• 725 members - 500 agri households (50 HH>10acres,450HH<10 acres)
- 225 non agri households
• 100 of these members don’t have tractors and use PACS tractors
•Suite of services –
- Implements on hire (4 tractors, 2 Laser Levellers, Happy
Seeder, Cultivators, harrows, levellers, etc)
- Seeds and fertilizers
- Agrochemicals,
- Loans,
- Fixed Deposits,
- Household grocery items

19. digitalGREEN
Example 3: Smallholder Aggregators

21. and drying
Post Harvest
Storage Study

22. THANKS

23. Reach of a Laser Leveller
Taking the maximum possible scenario:
•A Laser Leveller can work for 12 hours/ day for 90 days = 1080
hours
•If it takes approx 3 hours/ acre, maximum possible is about 360
acres
•If the laser leveller is repeated in the same farm/ 4 years, we are
looking at an impact of 1080 acres per laser leveller
•Assuming that 50% of households agree to get their lands
levelled, a laser leveller can have a maximum impact zone of 2160
acres in its entire lifespan
•An average sized village has land approximately of 250-500
acres, a laser leveller can ideally work maximum in 4-5 or
maximum 10 villages in its entire life.

24. What does this mean for CSISA
• Enormous task
• Small team
• Too few sCannot reach to all population even within the same district

25. Channels to Communicate
Scientific Organisations
Scientists
Business Organisations
Private Sector Entities
Information sharing organisations
Media
Financing organisations
Grant giving, loan giving
Trustworthy Organisations
Community Engagement