On Diwali morning in 2022, as most people in Mahagaon, a small town in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, prepared for celebrations, a quiet revolution was unfolding. Standing tall in a modest corner of the market was something the town had never seen before — a smart-card-operated milk ATM. Operated by a local farmer, it was the first of its kind in the entire Vidarbha region.

What began with just 10 litres of pasteurised milk a day has since grown into a thriving rural enterprise. Today, Sunil Kolpe, a 43-year-old farmer from nearby Fulsawangi, sells over 350 litres daily — not just through the ATM, but also via doorstep delivery and a newly opened ice-cream parlour.

When the land failed, he found another way

Kolpe owns a 24-acre farm located about 13 km from Mahagaon, where he has long cultivated sugarcane, soybean, and cotton.

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“But year after year, I was receiving lesser yields,” he recalls. “Agronomic experts explained that the low organic carbon in the soil was affecting productivity. They advised me to add cow dung along with chemical fertilisers.”

At first, Kolpe tried buying cow dung from others, but spending Rs 2.5 lakh this way was simply not sustainable. That’s when he began to see a longer-term solution — one that could provide both milk and organic manure: starting his own dairy.

‘Fed up with late payments, I........

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