Farmers join e-club on retail boom
By Harit Mehta, TNN |
Highlights
AHMEDABAD: Last week, over a dozen farmers in Gunteli and Ghadha-tiny hamlets near milktown Anand-opened their first email accounts while many more are learning how to operate the PC. Not that technology has caught their fancy. These farmers want to communicate with corporates foraying into farm product retailing, just the way a company executive would.
The impending retail boom has brought these far-sighted peasants together. Soon, behemoths like Reliance and Bharti Wal-Mart, who are going to procure agri produce in a big way for their retail ventures, will come for business. ���The fear is if the farmers don���t get organised, they will get bullied,��� says Sameer Patel, president of Ghadha Farmers Club.
From learning computers and opening email accounts to floating farmer clubs-a concept floated by Nabard-farmers are leaving no stones unturned. Estimates suggest there will be over 800 new farmer clubs in Gujarat this year-against a yearly average of 400. Farmer clubs are grassroots-level informal forums organised by rural branches of banks with the support and financial assistance of Nabard for the mutual benefit of the banks concerned and rural people.
The impending retail boom has brought these far-sighted peasants together. Soon, behemoths like Reliance and Bharti Wal-Mart, who are going to procure agri produce in a big way for their retail ventures, will come for business. ���The fear is if the farmers don���t get organised, they will get bullied,��� says Sameer Patel, president of Ghadha Farmers Club.
From learning computers and opening email accounts to floating farmer clubs-a concept floated by Nabard-farmers are leaving no stones unturned. Estimates suggest there will be over 800 new farmer clubs in Gujarat this year-against a yearly average of 400. Farmer clubs are grassroots-level informal forums organised by rural branches of banks with the support and financial assistance of Nabard for the mutual benefit of the banks concerned and rural people.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
