Why FPOs
Agriculture is the mainstay of economy in the district and about 80% of the population is mainly dependent on the agriculture. Sirmaur district has about 85% small and marginal farmer families and the holdings are very small and scattered. The yield of crops is below the norm. Major food crops are grouped in three categories namely cereals, pulses and other food crops like chilies, ginger, sugarcane and turmeric. Non-food crops are of two kind’s viz. oil seeds and other crops such as cotton, tobacco etc.
Travails of a Small & Marginal Farmers
- Small plot size
- Lack of quality inputs
- No access to timely credit
- Low holding capacity
- Low bargaining power in the market
- Exploitative market practices
The Institutional Model
The objective of the formation of Farmer Producer Organization is to have organic links with the community institution architecture of Self Help Groups and federations and focus more on creating value chains for small & marginal farmers and producers by enabling direct market linkages. At least three FPOs will be formulated and activation of one FPO is the main target of the project.
At the village level, Producer Groups are being formed by mobilising anywhere between 20–100 small farmers depending upon the commodity in focus. These Producer Groups will serve as effective platforms for collective orientation and capacity building of producers while facilitating backward linkages through parent producer companies. The small farmers are oriented on benefits of aggregation and quality control. Production planning is being undertaken at the start of every season to aggregate demand for inputs as well as to assess potential procurement volume. Village level Producer Groups are being equipped with requisite basic infrastructure and quality control tools to serve as primary aggregation hubs. Village level Producer Groups serve as the interface between Producer Groups and the FPCs and deliver services like training, weighing, quality assessment and daily price communication.
Farmer Interest Groups
Under Component C3: Development of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) Network; the details of Farmer Interest Groups (FIG) created as on date is as under:
Sr. No. | Block | Number of FIGs | Number of Beneficiaries | Download |
1. | Sangrah Block | 200 | 6,000 | |
2. | Pachhad Block | 200 | 5,000 | |
3. | Paonta Sahib Block | 200 | 7,000 | |
Total | 600 | 18,000 |
|
Photographs - FIG creation process
