The challenge
Small farmers lost much of their harvest because they had nowhere to store it.
The case
Vegetable vendors and small farmers around Rourkela, India, lost much of their produce because they had nowhere to store it and had to sell quickly at low prices. As one of the winners of Bloomberg Philanthropies' 2021 Global Mayors Challenge, the city built solar-powered cold rooms at markets, run by women's self-help groups, so produce can be stored overnight and sold later. Bloomberg reports that the program has reduced food waste by 75% for local business owners and allowed farmers to grow more produce that sells at a higher price. It also says one women's self-help group tripled its revenue, raising its income by over 60%.
Why it worked
A small piece of infrastructure fixed a costly bottleneck and created income for the women who run it. The reported results come from Bloomberg and the city and haven't been independently evaluated.
Sources
- Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange: Economic Vulnerability (reducing food waste and boosting farmer incomes).
- Bloomberg Cities: Mayors Challenge impact, Rourkela, India.
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