Impact assessment of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) on agriculture and rural livelihood in Gujarat, India

Abstract

FPOs, also known as Farmers' Producer Organizations, have the primary objective of uniting small and marginal farmers to improve their access to input and output markets. These institutions play a crucial role in closing the divide between farmers and markets. They can be set up by different entities, such as the government, cooperative institutions, private sector, civil society, trusts, and statutory societies. These FPOs take different forms, such as agricultural cooperatives, producer companies, self-help groups, federations of self-help groups, common interest groups, farmer interest groups, commodity interest groups, joint liability groups, and farmers' clubs. Each of these forms varies in terms of their membership size and geographic distribution. (Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, strengthening market access for small and marginal farmers ... - manage 2020) FPOs in India have a wide range of legal structures. They can take the form of a Producer Company under the “Companies Act, 2013”, a Cooperative under the “Cooperative Societies Act”, a Non-profit entity under the “Companies Act, 2013”, or a Trust under the “Indian Trusts Act, 1882”. Among these options, the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS) is one of the most ancient and conventional types of farmer organizations in India. (Kumar et. Al, 2022) Initially SFAC (Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium) was entrusted with the task of looking after FPOs. Govt. Of India released FPO guidelines in the year and the following year (2014) was named as the “Year of Farmer Produce Organizations”. A special package of ₹200cr was also allocated to NABARD by Ministry of Agriculture for strengthening the FPOs in the country.