NAFPO:: National Association for Farmer Producer Organisations

A Farmer Producer Company is a hybrid between cooperative
society and private limited company. It is a legalized form of
farmer-owned institutions, which consists of farmer (primary)
members with common interests and concerns.

So far, more than 24183 FPCs have been registered
of which 23354 FPCs are in active status.

FPOs were evolved as new generation producer-led organization, to
help them receive benefits of aggregation, bargaining power
and economies of scale. Status- So far, more than 24183
FPCs have been registered of which 23354 FPCs are in active status.

FPCs have become the lynchpin strategy for Doubling Farmers
Income. Budget 2018 had slew of measures supporting FPOs
including 5-year tax breaks and Budget 2019 announced
promotion of 10,000 FPOs in the coming 5 years.

A Farmer Producer Company is
a hybrid between cooperative
society and private limited company.
It is a legalized form of farmer-owned
institutions, which consists of farmer
(primary) members with common
interests and concerns.

So far, more than 24183 FPCs have
been registered of which 23354
FPCs are in active status.

FPOs were evolved as new generation
producer-led organization, to
help them receive benefits of
aggregation, bargaining power and
economies of scale. Status- So far,
more than 24183 FPCs have been
registered of which 23354 FPCs are in
active status.

FPCs have become the lynchpin
strategy for Doubling Farmers Income.
Budget 2018 had slew of measures
supporting FPOs including 5-year tax
breaks and Budget 2019 announced
promotion of 10,000 FPOs in the
coming 5 years.

“Steps are being taken to consolidate
efforts by transforming existing
farmer collectives into sustainable FPOs.
The aim is to promote FPOs in a mission
mode and make FPO a nationwide movement”

Shri Harsh Kumar Bhanwala,
Chairman, NABARD

An enabling ecosystem needs to be created to facilitate emergence of robust FPOs with integration of multiple stakeholders.

The primary goal of NAFPO is to focus attention on the immense opportunity that Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) present to transform agriculture in India and contribute towards the visionary goal of doubling farmers’ income.

About NAFPO

National Association for Farmer Producer Organisations (NAFPO) is registered as a non-profit, multi-stakeholder owned platform to support institutional development and business stabilization for Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).

More About NAFPO

Guiding Objectives

Developing Market Acces and Financial Linkages

Developing Market Access and Financial Linkages

Facilitating market access for FPOs and help them access finance, ultimately leading to the development of FPOs as key market players in the agricultural economy

Capacity Building of Professional management support

Facilitating market access for FPOs and help them access finance, ultimately leading to the development of FPOs as key market players in the agricultural economy

Strategy endorsement for FPO advancement

Facilitating development of a pool of skilled human resources for farmer organizations including, managers and micro entrepreneurs and establish training facilities/linkages and support with curricula design.

State of the Sector Report 2024 Farmer Producer Organisations in India

About

The State of the Sector Report 2024 - Farmer Producer Organisations in India (SoFPO 2024) report is an attempt to present the status of the FPOs sector and bring out some critical aspects that the sector and the organizations face.

As a matter of regular practice, the report submits to readers, the sector status, with focus on the number of FPOs that came into existence in the last three years, lists the contribution of Central schemes such as the 10,000 FPOs programme, the support system for the sector - including financial, technical, and institutional. This report discusses advancements and changes underway, besides putting forth some apparent emergent trends. The report also includes a primary survey of FPOs to gauge ease of registration, management and governance structures and systems, adoption of technology for business processes, to name a few. Based on this survey, an index to capture the Ease of Doing Business for FPOs has been developed. This index is the hallmark of SoFPO - 2024.

In addition, the report looks at FPOs from the prism of small businesses and assesses through a few chapters the internal and external factors an FPO needs to exist, survive and enter the growth phase. Comparison and contrasting with the typical small business parameters are expected to indicate the similarities between an FPO and a regular small business, even as the differences highlight the challenges an FPO would commonly encounter. These chapters draw from observations of practitioners, with a few case studies to illustrate the inferences. Institutional support mechanisms and use of technology to create a nurturing environment capture the external factors, while granular issues such as building and strengthening member patronage, desisting from early stage fixed capital investments, establishing one or two sound business lines, and focus on profits are a few factors that come out as internal to the FPO. Further, in other chapters, a few policy perspectives, with allusion to the draft National Policy on FPOs are discussed.

An interview with Shri. Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Additional Secretary (Marketing), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Govt. of India, adds immense value to the report, where Shri. Kidwai shares upcoming policy initiatives that aim to strengthen the FPO movement.

NAFPO Steering Committee

Our Team

Pravesh Sharma, IAS (Retd)
Director
Pravesh Sharma, IAS (Retd)

Director

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The vision behind NAFPO is pulsated by Shri Pravesh Sharma, who is the Founder and Chairs the Steering Committee. He is a former 1982 batch IAS officer with deep experience in the agriculture sector. He took voluntary retirement after 34 years of service. In his long association with the sector, he served as Secretary, Agriculture in the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, as India Representative of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Visiting Fellow at Princeton University and most recently (2010-2015) as MD of the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), Govt. of India. He initiated the campaign to promote farmer producer organisations at SFAC and helped register over 1000 FPOs across the country. Pravesh Sharma has written extensively on issues of agriculture, rural development and related issues and widely published in journals and newspapers. Currently, he is leading as the CEO of Kamatan Farm Tech Pvt Ltd. that works on building inclusive and sustainable agriculture value chains.
Anish Kumar
Trustee
Anish Kumar

Trustee

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Anish is the Managing Trustee for NAFPO and has invested over 20 years on working for small and marginal farmers. He has been on the leadership team at India’s leading non-profit PRADAN, working on rural transformation. He integrated the finance function, involving raising resources, statutory compliance, and building and managing linkages with stakeholders. His areas of expertise include creating business organizations run by poor communities and facilitating participation of small-holder farmers in modern value chains. Anish developed and piloted the small-holder poultry prototype; was the CEO of the first poultry co-operative; and then scaled up the model across new geographies. He is a Board member of the National Smallholder Poultry Development Trust, an advisory and policy advocacy body. Anish has been a member of the Planning Commission Working Group on disadvantaged farmers, and has been involved in designing of policies on producer collectives. Currently, he is leading Transform Rural India as the Managing Director.
Baskar Reddy
Advisor
Baskar Reddy

Advisor

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Baskar promotes NAFPO on key activities and endeavours. He leads Syngenta Foundation India as the Country Director since 2013. From 2005-13, he directed the Agriculture, Food Processing and Water divisions at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He worked closely there with the Ministry of Agriculture on policy formulation and implementation in agricultural marketing, extension, warehousing, machinery and food processing. Baskar was instrumental in India's new Public-Private Partnership for Integrated Agriculture Development. He holds a Ph.D. in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering from IARI, New Delhi. In March 2014, the Indian government nominated Baskar to its national Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture.
Aneesha Bali
Project Manager
Aneesha Bali

Project Manager

Aneesha anchors as the Lead for Institutions and Partnerships at NAFPO. She is currently responsible for strategizing key activities, enhancing the efficiency by strengthening foundational attributes and integrating strategies into actionable plans. She also works on building partnerships with stakeholders to facilitate opportunities to fulfill the objective of NAFPO. She has previously worked with Rajasthan State Rural Livelihood Mission with women led federations in establishing strong community institutions (including FPOs), local livelihood models and convergence with government schemes. Aneesha holds a post-graduation degree from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai in Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship.
Vijayaragavan Ramanujam
Consultant
Vijayaragavan Ramanujam

Consultant

Vijayaragavan Ramanujam is a consultant (Initiatives and Leadership) with NAFPO since 2019 and has as over 10 years of experience in the sector focusing on market linkages, business management and risk management of FPOs. He has worked with multiple FPOs, conducted trainings on business management and has presented concept papers on managing risks at FPOs to Echoing green Fellowship and the Clinton Global Initiative. He is an Aeronautical Engineer with a Post Graduate Diploma in Liberal Arts from Ashoka University.
Vaishali Gite
Consultant
Vaishali Gite

Consultant

Vaishali Gite is an accomplished professional with a strong background in strategic consulting, capacity building, and project management. Currently serving as the Consultant for Institutions and Partnerships at NAFPO, she is responsible for strategizing key activities and integrating strategies into actionable plans.

With experience working with the Rajasthan State Rural Livelihood Mission, Vaishali has successfully established community institutions, including Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and developed effective local livelihood models. Her contributions to the Indiabulls Foundation as a CSR Executive and her work with the Bihar State Minister on governance reflect her commitment to social impact and policy implementation. Additionally, she has worked with NETRI Foundation as a Programme Manager, further expanding her expertise.

Vaishali holds a post-graduation degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, specializing in Children and Families.
Urvi Mishra
Consultant
Urvi Mishra

Consultant

Urvi Mishra, an experienced development management professional who has extensive experience in Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) management, rejuvenation and capacity building and donor scouting and onboarding.
As a consultant at NAFPO, she is responsible to build the partnership, collaborate and strategise interactions with the stakeholders.

Her experience as a technical partner with organisations such as Technoserve, Srijan Foundation and Samaj Pragati Sahayog have been diverse and dynamic. She has worked extensively on FPO management involving commercialisation of farm produce to compliance management. She had been a catalyst in multiple livelihood generation programs for Bheel, Gond, and Shariya tribes, while working with SPS in Madhya Pradesh.

Urvi has completed MBA in Rural Development from Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute Allahabad.