Electricity Helps Indian Dairy Farmers Earn More

“We were dependent on a middle man to take the milk to the market,” said one man. We’d get 20 rupees per kilo. Now we sell directly and get 30 rupees per kilo. That’s a big improvement for farmers like us.“

For decades, Diyara Rasulpur, a cluster of villages on an island in the River Ganges, has been without power—but things are finally changing. Today, approximately 150 households receive a solar-powered kit that includes two light bulbs with inbuilt mobile-charging points and LED torch. The kit, charged by a new solar power plant constructed by The Rockefeller Foundation’s Smart Power in Indiainitiative, is just the beginning, with even bigger plans on the horizon.

Smart Power in India’s next step is to open a local enterprise center, linked to the power plant by a mini-grid system. Entrepreneurs from across the island are lining up to expand their businesses or start new ones. Read More…