Marketyard Sangola Farmers Producer Company Limited

Marketyard Sangola Farmers Producer Company Limited is based at Sunil Sadashiv Kolwale’s house in Ajnale village, near Sangola. Most of us here have been working the land since we were young. It’s what our families have always done. Sangola is often quite dry, so we have to be very careful with how we use our water. We formed this company to find better ways to manage our crops and get them to the market without losing money. Before we started this, we were all just doing our own thing and taking whatever price the local buyers offered. Now, we try to make decisions as a group. The office in Ajnale is just a simple room where we store our records and meet once a week. Sunil keeps everything in order. We aren't a big corporation with plenty of cash. We are just regular people who work hard under the sun every single day. There are months when the crops fail, and those are the really tough times. But being in this group means we aren't facing those problems on our own. We share ideas about which seeds are working and when is the best time to harvest. It is all very practical. We are just trying to get a fair price so we can keep our farms going for our children. It’s a slow process and we are learning as we go, but we are determined to make it work for everyone in the village.