Amit Shah, the union’s minister of home affairs and international cooperation, will open the day-long megaconclave “Strengthening PACS through FPOs” on July 14 in New Delhi.
The conclave’s goal is to debate strategies to make Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) more effective at supporting Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
Experts from the industry and representatives from FPOs around the nation will attend the conclave. The Union Ministry of Cooperation and the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) are working together to put on the mammoth conference.
The FPOs are one of the main tools for agricultural transformation because they are collective entities created by farmers, allowing them to pool resources and increase their negotiating power.
Recently, a decision was made to establish 1100 New FPOs in the cooperative sector in order to carry out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” and thanks to Amit Shah.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare recently allocated additional blocks to NCDC to form and promote 1100 FPOs in the Cooperative Sector through strengthening of PACS under the scheme to support small and marginal farmers comprehensively and strengthen the cooperative sector as part of an important campaign of the Ministry of Cooperation.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare recently allocated additional blocks to NCDC to form and promote 1100 FPOs in the Cooperative Sector through strengthening PACS under the scheme to strengthen the cooperative sector and provide all-encompassing support to small and marginal farmers, in response to a significant initiative of the Ministry of Cooperation.
Each FPO is given financial support of Rs 33 lakh under the FPOs Scheme. Additionally, the Cluster Based Business Organisations (CBBOs) receive financial support of Rs 25 lakh each FPO for marketing and supporting the FPOs.
According to some, FPOs are essential for ensuring the sustainability of agriculture, fostering livelihoods, and enhancing the general quality of life for those who depend on it. They assist marginal and small farmers/producers in gaining access to higher prices, lowering transportation expenses, and increasing general productivity.
In order to help farmers expand their range of business activities, including the provision of production inputs, agricultural equipment like cultivators, tillers, and harvesters, as well as processing and value addition, such as cleaning, assaying, sorting, grading, packing, storage, and transportation, the government has been pushing for the integration of the PACS into the FPO scheme.
Around 13 crore farmers who are largely involved in short-term loans and distribution of seeds, fertiliser, etc. make up the large member base of the PACS. At the moment, small and marginal farmers make up about 86% of all farmers in the nation.
The government has already taken steps to encourage the farmers affiliated with the PACS to join FPOs since it is necessary to give these farmers access to better technology, credit, better input, and more markets to motivate them to produce better-quality commodities.
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare announced the Central Sector Scheme “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)” in this respect.
The NCDC is a statutory institution that reports to the Ministry of Cooperation. Its duties include organising cooperatives to boost output and productivity and set up post-harvest facilities.
The NCDC distributed Rs 41,031.39 crore during the FY 2022–23 in a variety of areas, including agro processing, weaker sections, cooperative computerization, service, credit, and youth cooperatives, among others.
