Shiv Vichar Producer Company Limited

Down at Shop No. 100 in Ghansawangi, you’ll usually find a few of us sitting around and talking about the crops. That’s the headquarters for Shiv Vichar Producer Company Limited, though calling it a headquarters makes it sound much bigger than it actually is. It’s just a shop in the Jalna district where we farmers from the local area come together. We started this because we were all facing the same problems with high costs and low returns. Instead of just complaining about it at the tea stall, we figured we’d try to do something as a group. We deal with whatever the land gives us, mostly grains and pulses that grow well in this part of Maharashtra. Some days the shop is busy with people bringing in their paperwork, and other days it’s just a quiet place to get out of the sun for a bit. We aren't experts in business, and we make mistakes with the filing and the rules sometimes, but we are learning as we go. The main thing is that we trust each other because we’ve been neighbors for years. We know who works hard and who knows the most about the soil. We don't have any fancy promises to make or big corporate goals. We are just trying to keep our farms going and make sure the next generation doesn't give up on the land because of money troubles.