Gopikaballabh Farmer Producer Company Limited

Gopikaballabh Farmer Producer Company Limited is what we call ourselves. We are mostly centered around Prashant Sen’s place. It’s not a big headquarters or anything like that, just where we meet to get things sorted. We are all just local farmers from this area. We grow mostly the usual crops you see around here. Some years are better than others, depending on the monsoon. We didn't start this to become some big company. We just wanted a way to buy seeds and stuff in bulk so it costs us less. It’s hard being a small farmer by yourself. When we work together, we can actually talk to the buyers with a bit more strength. We spend our days out in the fields, so most of our meetings happen in the evenings when everyone is tired. We share what we know about the soil and which pests are causing trouble this month. It’s honest work, even if it doesn't pay much. We don't have any fancy marketing people. We just write down what we need and try to find a way to get it. Prashant keeps track of the papers because someone has to do it. Mostly, we are just neighbors helping neighbors. It's a simple life and we are just trying to make sure our families are taken care of. That is the whole story behind our group here.