FPO should focus on the development of the value chain and not just production: Manoj Ahuja
13 July 2023, New Delhi: The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India, in association with Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), organized a one-day National Workshop on Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) yesterday in New Delhi.
In his Presiding address, Secretary, Manoj Ahuja spoke of the important role played by the leadership and clear vision in establishing and achieving the aspiration of supporting marginal farmers and the development of the entire value chain should be the goal of FPO rather than just production.
Additional Secretary, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai stressed on the need for monitoring by IAs of CBBOs, sensitization of government functionaries; facilitation by Govt agencies in getting licenses and bank finance for FPOs.
The technical sessions of the workshop were flagged off by AS and MD (SFAC) wherein the status of the scheme and the roadmap for major indicators were shared.
Over 100 participants, including Secretaries, Commissioners, and Directors (Agriculture) from 17 states and UTs; and 15 Project Implementing Agencies (agencies of the Central and State Governments) of the Scheme were present in the workshop.
The workshop ended with an open session, where key operational aspects of the scheme were discussed. As a part of the discussion, the participants appreciated the initiative of sharing information and examples to ensure cross-learning across all the entities.
Background:
The National Workshop was organized under the Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations. This Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of Rs 6,865 crore, was started in 2020 by the Prime Minister of India to substantially increase farmer incomes. The scheme is designed to primarily benefit the small & marginal farmers who constitute more than 86% of the farmer base. The scheme focuses on forming farmer collectives (FPOs) to facilitate economies of scale and scope for the small & marginal farmers across the value chain thereby reducing the cost of production and increasing their revenue. Further, the scheme envisages providing credit guarantees for loans taken by FPOs for various business activities. A total of 6,319 FPOs have already been registered under the scheme till date.
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