BASIX partners with Mastercard to digitise the rural ecosystem in Maharashtra

By Leandra Monteiro

BASIX Social Enterprise Group announced the launch of BASIX Farmers’ Market (BFM), an AgriTech platform, in partnership with Mastercard. The collaboration is in line with the Government of India’s vision to integrate farmers into the digital economy.

BFM will leverage Mastercard’s technology capabilities, and BASIX’s deep industry expertise in agriculture to improve the lives of small and marginal farmers. This will be done by addressing the fundamental challenges related to price discovery, market reach, payments, and credit access.

Over 26 years serving farmers and promoting more than 600 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) across the country, BASIX has so far registered 1 lakh farmers across five districts of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra on the BFM platform. Through BFM, BASIX and Mastercard aim to improve the lives of over 10 one million farmers, including the new cohort of 200 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) being promoted under SMART Project as part of their partnership with the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission.

The platform digitizes data and workflows for FPOs with strong controls on data privacy and security. The platform is also equipped to work in environments with inconsistent connectivity, such as remote areas of the country, where several small farmers operate.

“We are very excited to launch BFM in partnership with Mastercard. BASIX group has been at the forefront of the FPO revolution in India and pioneered various aspects of agri value chains, including design and delivery of agri-finance at scale. Sub-K, a BASIX promoted fintech, is already leading the way on fintech innovations in the financial inclusion space, and I am proud that both BASIX and Sub-K are coming together in this endeavor. We firmly believe in the power of technology for building scale, and highly value this partnership with Mastercard, a global powerhouse in payments technology. We aim to impact at least 1 million farmers through this initiative in the next five years,” said Sattaiah Deverakonda, Group MD & CEO, BASIX.

Sub-K will facilitate credit and other financial linkages for working capital, trade finance and the investment needs of farmers and FPOs registered on BFM. Sub-K will rely on the data generated on BFM to analyze credit requirements and associated risks using proprietary rule engines, and then package financing options in partnership with financial institutions.

“Mastercard collaborates with partners like BASIX to develop products and solutions that uplift underserved communities, bringing them into the digital economy. Through BFM, multiple stakeholders in the agricultural ecosystem will be connected, empowering farmers in a commercially sustainable way by helping them to find new buyers, access credit and improve their livelihoods,” said Himanshu Bansal, Vice President, Digital and Financial Inclusion, Mastercard Community Pass.

The launch of BASIX Farmers’ Market is an extension of Mastercard Farm Pass, a rural and agriculture digitization solution that serves more than 3.5 lakh farmers across five states in India, and one million farmers globally. It is a digital ecosystem platform that works offline to connect buyers, FPOs and other agriculture ecosystem players with farmers, and enable them to get the best value for their produce.