Farmers Producers Org set up in 2016 to do business of ₹20 crore this year

NABARD officials and beneficiaries at a farm pond constructed through FPO in Navalgund taluk of Dharwad district on Monday.
| Photo Credit: KIRAN BAKALE

The help extended by NABARD and State Bank of India to farmers of Navalgund taluk has facilitated the establishment and operation of Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO) and it, in turn, has resulted in bringing down input cost, thus increasing their profit margin.

Speaking to presspersons during a media tour of Navalgund and Navalli in Dharwad district on Monday, District Development Officer of NABARD Mayur Kamble said that farmers of the Navalgund block were facing challenges in finding direct market and bringing down input cost.

“There was a need for the establishment of FPO (Farmers Producers Organisation), which materialised with the establishment of Kalmeshwar FPO through assistance of NABARD in 2016,” he said.

“The FPO established with the collaboration of Deshpande Foundation received an assistance of ₹9.06 lakh from NABARD and it has a membership of 1,124 farmers of 40 villages in Navalgund block. Kalmeshwar FPO is the State’s first FPO to supply certified seeds. And, it also supplies green gram seeds to the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad. This apart, it takes up processing, value addition, soil testing and construction of farm ponds,” he explained.

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Mr. Kamble said that the FPO had raised a loan of ₹1.70 crore from NABKISAN, a subsidiary of NABARD, towards working capital and for the establishment of processing unit and it, in turn, has entered into agreements with other companies for supply of farm produce. Consequently, the FPO has done a business of ₹13.70 crore during 2021-22 and it is expected to cross ₹20 crore during 2022-23.

Elaborating on the pattern of the tie-up, Sandeep Naik of Deshpande Foundation said that through a tripartite agreement, the construction of farm ponds has been taken up extensively in the districts of Dharwad, Belagavi, Haveri and Gadag. So far, 2,475 farm ponds have been constructed in the four districts and 9,900 farmers are benefiting.

Uma Manakawad of Kalmeshwar FPO, Basanagouda Mudigoudra of Nagaswamiji Raita Sangha, another farmer Praveen Sherewad shared their experiences and how they benefited through the FPO.

Manager of State Bank of India Rajat briefed about the loan scheme and pattern being extended to the farmers groups.

CEO of Kalmeshwar FPO Mrutyunjay Salimath, Younus Khan of Deshpande Foundation and others were present.