top of page
Women undertaking quality inspection of maize crop at farmers home.jpg

understanding

Bolbhav through

 our data story 

Group 165 (2).png

We are building the foundation of a data cooperative, step by step. Bolbhav launched on April 10, 2023, in the beta phase with a focus on crop sale price data. Until April 2024, we tested whether farmers would pay for aggregated real-time price data. Starting in May 2024, we have been testing whether farmers would contribute their data.

326.Building-Blocks.png

 Farmers contribute  
their crop sale data and earn rewards

Each data unit represents the price at which a crop was sold, captured through the submission of a sales receipt issued by the agricultural market. These receipts contain crucial information such as the market name, crop name, variety, quantity, price, and trader name. This data undergoes a validation process by other users. Contributors are rewarded with access to price data submitted by other users. For example, by contributing five receipts, a user can see prices of one agricultural market for one year.

Total Data Units Contributed to Date

Initially, we wanted to prove the hypothesis of whether users would pay for real-time information. Hence, we had employees and gig workers in the field to collect price data. Since May 5, 2024, we have completely shifted to user contributions. There is no longer any monetary incentive for anyone to contribute. We are now implementing strategies aimed at achieving a minimum user contribution rate of 50% by December 2024.

Percentage of Users Who Have Contributed at Least Once

Monthly Unique Contributors and Count of Data Units Submitted

Notes on the data in this section:​

  1. This graph displays the comparative analysis of monthly unique contributors and count of sale receipts submitted since Jan, 2024.

  2. Initially, we provided monetary incentives to boost regular contributions. Between April 2023 and December 2023, we used an employee-based data collection model. From January 2024 to April 2024, we switched to a gig worker-based data collection model.

  3. Since May 5, 2024, we have completely phased out monetary incentives. Now, by contributing, users only gain access to prices contributed by others. 

  4. The chart shows that when provided monetary incentives, a few users contributed a lot of receipts. When monetary incentives are removed, the count of receipts fell down drastically.

  5. The total number of units contributed to date is calculated by counting the total number of data points submitted since the launch of Bolbhav in April 2023.

  6. The percentage of users who have contributed at least once is calculated by dividing the count of unique users who have either contributed or validated a data point by the total number of unique phones used to sign up for the application.

170.Playing.png

 Farmers pay  
to access an aggregated dataset

Between April 2023 and April 2024, we focused on testing farmers' willingness to pay and the total market size. We paid data contributors to ensure the availability of high-quality real-time crop prices. In our pilot geography, over 15,000 users downloaded the Bolbhav app, and more than 15% of them purchased a subscription. We did not put any effort into sales, and all subscription purchases were organic.

Count of Unique Subscribers

Percentage of Subscribers Who Resubscribed

Defying the stereotype that farmers avoid paying for information, our resubscription rate reveals their readiness to invest in actionable data. Given that the need for crop price data aligns with the harvesting season, our service sees longer than usual resubscription periods. With about 20% of users on annual plan, the upcoming year—spanning 3-4 harvest cycles and marking our second operational year—will offer deeper insights into our user resubscription trends.

Monthly Revenue from Subscription

Notes on the data in this section:
  1. This graph displays the monthly subscription revenue in Rupees and the count of subscribers from April 2023 onwards.
  2. To find the optimal pricing strategy, we conducted numerous experiments at various price points: Rs. 20, 50, 100, 250, and 1460. This may have caused some month-to-month fluctuation in subscription purchases.
  3. Strikes in the agricultural markets in August and September 2023 led to a notable dip in subscription revenue.
  4. Since May 2024, we have completely phased out monetary incentives for contributions. This has decreased the availability of crop price information on the platform, which is the primary reason for the decline in subscriptions from May 2024 onwards.
bottom of page