HAFED, a Historical Perspective on Change Agents in India
HAFED, or The Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited, began as a grassroots initiative by the farmers in the Haryana State of India who banded together to create a place-based cooperative where they could sort, manage, and sell their produce. The organization grew over the years as more pieces of the supply chain were added. They purchased inputs like fertilizer and seeds and resold them to other farmers creating a retail section of the co-op, and added processing mills, marketing agents, and storage and transportation agencies, all the while the co-op grew in influence and power. While the HAFED does not only work within the rice production system, they do specialize in it. They have multiple rice mills and specialized marketing schemes just for rice and work with farmers to track yields of different varieties.
