Murali Yadhav and his wife, Jyoti, with one of their buffalos are customers of Acumen investee Sahayog Dairy, a dairy company in rural India. Photo by Navin Muruga.

Murali Yadhav stands proudly in front of his home, a modest but sturdy tin-roofed brick house. He has painted it bright blue to match the clear sky that covers Pagadhal, his rural village in India’s Madhya Pradesh.

Using one of the home’s blue walls, Murali has built a shed for his small herd of buffalos. Away from the family’s living quarters and the outdoor straw beds, cakes of buffalo dung have been meticulously laid out to dry. Murali applies the same level of care and maintenance to his buffalos as he does his home because it’s his thriving farming business that has enabled him to support his family and build a life for them.

Murali wasn’t always a dairy farmer. For the majority of his adult life, he worked as one of India’s many day laborers. He would wake up at 5 a.m. to spend the day working on a commercial farm. At 6 p.m., the workday would end and he would receive a mere 100 rupees, the equivalent of $1.50, for his labor.

Murali’s sky-blue home in Pagadhal village, Madhya Pradesh, India. Photo By Navin Muruga.

But three years ago, life changed for Murali when Sahayog, an Acumen investee set up a milk collection center just 800 meters from his home. Like most villagers in rural India, Murali owned a buffalo but milked it purely for personal consumption. At that time, the only milk buyer was a local government-owned cooperative, and its collection center was 15 kilometers away, too far to travel for someone with only a few liters of milk to sell. Even if Murali made the trip, he’d likely get cheated by the milk buyer, known for offering preferential rates to larger, commercial dairy farmers.

Most commercial dairy companies find it costly to purchase milk from rural dairy farmers like Murali but Sahayog is a social enterprise that goes against the grain. Over the last three years, Sahayog has established milk collection centers in roughly 300 villages across Madhya Pradesh to provide rural farmers with the opportunity to connect to the commercial market and grow their business.

One of Sahayog’s 270+ plus milk collection centers. While dairy is a critical part of India’s agricultural sector, the industry relies largely on smallholder farmers living on less than $3 a day and remains highly fragmented. Photo by Navin Muruga.

At each of the company’s 270+ collection centers, milk is tested and evaluated and farmers receive an instant receipt for the quality and quantity of milk delivered. To ensure fair pricing and transparency, Sahayog guarantees a fixed price based on the milk’s fat content, which is calculated using a tamper-proof electronic analyzer. The milk is then transported to Sahayog’s plant to be pasteurized and packaged for sale under its retail brand, Pure 1.

Sahayog’s veterinary services, training and new technology have helped Murali grow his herd. Photo by Navin Muruga.

Recognizing that interventions are required at every step along the value chain to improve farmer’s incomes, Sahayog provides a holistic set of services ranging from microfinance loans for cattle purchases to veterinary services to improve the health of cows, employing advanced technology at every step of the process.

With the help of these services, Murali increased the milk yield of his buffalo. And when he wanted to grow his herd, Sahayog was there to provide artificial insemination services.

Today, Murali is the proud owner of a bull, six buffalos and three calves. As his business has grown, Murali is now earning up to 18,000 rupees, or $265, a month. This increase in income has allowed him to transition from working as a day laborer to becoming a full-time independent dairy farmer.

Undoubtedly, dairy farming is still hard work. Murali still wakes up at 5 every morning to milk his buffalos and spends the day watching over them as they graze under the scorching Indian sun. However, this time it’s different. This time, Murali’s long hours are supporting a business he owns and enabling him and his family to build a life based on dignity.

The green plains of Pagadhal, one of the many rural villages in India that Sahayog is connecting to India’s commercial milk market. Photo by Navin Muruga.

Navin Muruga is a 2016 Acumen Global Fellow.

The Acumen Global Fellows Program is 12-month leadership program for individuals committed to serving the poor who possess the skills, determination and moral imagination to drive social change.