Marathwada Shetkari Agro Producer

Out here in Chikangaon, near the ZP school in Ambad, things move at a different pace. Our group, Marathwada Shetkari Agro Producer, started because a few of us realized we could not do everything alone. We are based right in the village. You can hear the kids at the school during the day. It is a plain office. We have some chairs and a table. Mostly we are out in the fields or meeting people at the market in Jalna. The soil here is tricky and the water is never enough, so we talk about that a lot. We help each other with getting supplies. It is not like those big companies in the cities. We wear our regular clothes and get our hands dirty. Sometimes we have meetings under the tree because it is cooler than being inside. We do not have a fancy logo or a big truck. Just a few bikes and the old tractor. We are just trying to make sure the farmers in Chikangaon get a fair deal. It is hard work and some days are better than others. When the harvest is good, everyone is happy. When it is not, we sit and figure out what to do next. We are not experts, just people who have lived here all our lives and know how things work in this part of Marathwada. It is just us, working together as neighbors.