With the aim of achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” and under the dedicated efforts of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, it has been decided to establish 1,100 new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) within the cooperative sector.
A target of these 1,100 additional FPOs has been allocated to National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare under its ‘Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs’ scheme. Under the FPO Scheme, financial assistance of Rs 33 lakhs is provided to each FPO. Further, financial assistance of Rs25 lakhs per FPO is provided to the Cluster-Based Business Organizations (CBBO).
Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), which have a member base of around 13 crore farmers and are primarily engaged in short-term credit and distribution of seeds, fertilizers, etc. will now be able to undertake other economic activities as well. Integration of PACS in the FPO scheme will enable them to expand their business. This initiative will ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce by providing them with necessary market linkages. This will enable the cooperative sector in general and PACS in particular, to generate alternative sources of revenues for their members, thus transforming themselves into viable, dynamic and financially sustainable economic entities.
