core idea that we are
working towards
farmers' data cooperative
Gramhal is a non-profit that is betting on the idea of
data cooperative as a pathway to build sustainable farm-lands and farm-families.
our core beliefs
Information asymmetry is real for more than 50 million farmers in India, and climate change is worsening it. This exists despite farmers actively seeking information from multiple sources, most of which fail to provide information that is credible, contextual, real-time and actionable. Thus leaving farmers dependent on their limited network of peers. We believe that technology can break these smaller peer silos by connecting farmers to a vast digital network of shared knowledge. Further, we believe that a sustained increase in farmers’ agency can only happen when this digital platform is owned and governed by farmers themselves.
where are we now?
Creating a self-sustaining farmers' data cooperative, needs adoption of three critical behaviours: farmers contribute their data, farmers pay for access to aggregated data, and farmers actively engage in the platform's governance. Gramhal has developed Bolbhav, a digital platform designed to test the feasibility of these behaviours. In 2023, Bolbhav was piloted in a closed geography, where we successfully showed that farmers are indeed willing to both contribute their data and pay for access to collective insights. In 2024, we're expanding Bolbhav across an entire Indian state and gauging farmers’ interest in joining the data cooperative.
what's our next milestone?
By December 2025, we aim to transform Bolbhav into a fully operational data cooperative with one million farmer members. Our journey toward this milestone focuses on three pivotal outcomes. First, reaching a break-even on gross margin. Second, integrating at least two data use cases beyond crop pricing. Thirdly, crafting educational materials on data literacy and cooperative management to prepare farmers to effortlessly assume control over governance and ownership of Bolbhav. Following the realisation of these three outcomes, we will work on facilitating the transfer of Bolbhav's ownership from Gramhal to the farmers.
we have what it takes!
Gramhal's superpower lies in its team. Since its inception in 2019, Gramhal's team has pursued pioneering ideas to enhance farmers' agency, from converting physical grains into digital shares to providing farmers with doorstep crop quality inspection services. When things didn't go as planned, the team demonstrated resilience by iterating on solutions. Our resilience stems from our leadership, who comes from a farming household and has a personal commitment to persevere. Over time, the whole team has cultivated a strong culture of resilience and experimentation that reinforces our belief that we can make the idea of farmers' data cooperative a reality.
we are looking for co-betters!
We are looking for funders, who want to make a small bet on making big impact. Our effort to establish a self-sustaining farmers' data cooperative is highly promising, yet it comes with inherent risks. Success depends on farmers' willingness to share personal data, their readiness to pay for accessing aggregated data, and their participation in the governance of the cooperative. We are committed to bring our relentless passion and execution to develop products and systems that can cultivate these core behaviours. But, for the magic to happen, we need active money that can partner as an equal and make a bet on this transformative idea.