NE BUSINESS BUREAU
OOTY, JUNE 11
Lawrencedale Agro Processing (LEAF), premier full-stack agriculture technology services major, on Saturday announced that it is enabling the much-needed organized financial services to marginalised farmers. The access to organized and structured financial services is among the key gaps which the Indian agriculture sector is facing. As a result of dependence on unorganized and prohibitively high cost of finance, the Indian farmers are regularly in a debt trap for majority of their lives.
LEAF is enabling and driving this positive social impact through innovative and affordable financial services and is introducing a slew of structured, customized financial products and services to the marginalised farmers.
- Support to farmers will enable them to grow better, live better
- We are driving transparency through our tech-enabled platform LEAF Farmer Network (LFN) which brings in the complete visibility and make the farmers creditworthy for organized financial services: said Palat Vijayaraghavan, Founder & CEO, LEAF.
- With active on ground LEAF Farmer Support Centres across many growing belts, farmers can grow the best of the produce with organized financial services, sell the harvest through LEAF centres
- We are working with the farmers to ensure that they use only the right amount of crop protection and crop nutrition products and this step will ensure that the harvest is Safe To-Consume without overdose of chemical enhancements
“There is pain for the marginalised farmer in each and every step. Right from soil preparation to choosing the various inputs for better cultivation of the crops and till the last mile of liquidating the harvest, the farmer’s lifecycle is under strain. Given the fact there is no authenticated trail of transactions, the process of securing organized financial offerings is tough,” said Palat Vijayaraghavan, Founder & CEO, LEAF.
“We are driving transparency through our tech-enabled platform LEAF Farmer Network (LFN) which brings in the complete visibility and make the farmers creditworthy for organized financial services. Our intervention in these financial services enables us to open new doors for farmers and empower them to lead their lives with dignity,” added Vijayaraghavan.
LEAF will dovetail organized financial access along with significant new flavours of scientific advisories for farming, empowering the marginalised farmers with just the right amount farm inputs followed by stepby-step support in striving to grow the best harvest possible. To handhold the farmers and for efficient use of organized and cost-effective financial support, LEAF has structured a model through which the agricultural inputs – such as seeds, crop nutrition and protection products, are provided to marginalised farmers through a controlled dispensing process.
“We are bringing about a fundamental structural change in how marginalised farmers approach financial services. We are enabling farmers to understand the value of transacting through the banking system, reach them the value of legitimate banking system and we handhold them to make it happen,” added Vijayaraghavan.
There are many options available for farmers to access finance. In various situations, one does not know whether the funding is being put to effective use for agriculture or for some other purposes.
“Our model ensures that the support, we bring to the marginalised farmers, is actually put to use for the purpose it is intended for, which is agriculture,” said Vijayaraghavan.
This model from LEAF further recalibrates how farmers approach the aspect of agricultural inputs with a scientific data driven approach.
“We are working with the farmers to ensure that they use only the right amount of crop protection and crop nutrition products and this step will ensure that the harvest is Safe To-Consume without overdose of chemical enhancements,” added Vijayaraghavan.
LEAF is bringing about this significant positive impact for the marginalised farmers and to bring in sustainable options to finance the farmers’ income generating needs and to enhance their livelihoods. “We are building customized products in credits, savings, while also innovating to ensure the marginalised farmers are secure with sustainable livelihood growth through products such as insurance,” Vijayaraghavan highlighted.
The access to organized and structured financial service is a key cog in the comprehensive offerings which LEAF has been enabling for marginalised farmers and will address a slew of problems plaguing the marginalised farmers. The Indian agriculture ecosystem is dotted with significant number of marginalised farmers who struggle against significant odds to earn their living. Compounding this, is the lack of education of scientific farming practices, lack of access to organised financial services, and absolutely no visibility of how the farmers can get proper returns for their harvest.
“Imagine the plight of a marginalised tribal farmer in remote in Eastern Ghats or deep in Western Ghats. They grow high value crops such as turmeric or exotic produce after much struggle, and then face more hurdles to sell the produce – usually at a cheap bargain. Then they have to wait for weeks to get paid for his harvest. The financial solutions which we are building through this partnership will strive to take the pain out,” Vijayaraghavan detailed.
“With active on ground LEAF Farmer Support Centres across many growing belts, farmers can grow the best of the produce with organized financial services, sell the harvest through LEAF centres, easily realise the true value for their harvest and access the fruits of their harvest through advanced technology solutions which will ease how the farmers experiences finances,” added Vijayaraghavan.
