India: Demonetisation leaves growers in the lurch
On the morning of November 8, 2017, IndiaSpend found Patel plucking marigold flowers on his farm in Mirjapur, near Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh. “The phone isn’t working since the past 20 days,” said Patel. “It can’t be repaired and we don’t have the money to buy a new one right now.”
Patel’s predicament underscores the difficulty small farmers face in moving to digital payments, which have increased overall over the past year.
Though farmers and traders said the move to demonetise notes did not have a lasting effect on prices in the flower market, the shift to payments by cheque for large transactions had delayed when farmers would get cash in hand, impacting household purchase decisions, particularly as small farmers and traders struggle with the banking system, and low financial and digital literacy.
Many farmers do not own a smartphone–1 billion people across India do not–so they cannot access mobile banking services or internet-based payment systems.
Read more at IndiaSpend (Shreya Shah)
