Status and performance of farmer producer organizations in Gurdaspur district of Punjab

In recent years, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have emerged as an important institutional mechanism for aggregation and improving the economy of small holders. To address the challenges faced by the marginal and small farmers in accessing markets and realizing the right price for their produce, procuring quality inputs at affordable prices and accessing technology, FPOs have come into force. As per information from NABARD, 12 farmer producer organizations were registered in Gurdaspur district. There were 10 registered FPOs, out of which 8 were functional and 2 were non functional as per the survey. Most of the FPOs were engaged in Dairy, Agriculture and value addition activities related with them. Before joining FPO there were 7 marginal farmers who were earning upto 3 lakhs, 12 were earning between 3 to 5 lakhs, 5 were earning between 5 to 10 lakhs whereas none was earning above 10 lakhs. Average annual income came out to be Rs 218185. There were 5 small farmers earning upto 3 lakhs, 15 were earning between 3 to 5 lakhs Similarly there 13 medium farmers that were earning between 3 to 5 lakhs. Comparively there were only 7 landless farmers those were earning between 3 to 5 lakhs. Interestingly there was an increase in the number of farmer members in all categories in 5 to 10 lakh income group from 3 to 5 lakh income group. There was 21.65 percent increase in the income of the marginal farmers. The income of the small farmers increased by 17.22 percent. There was an increase of 11.07 percent in the income of the medium farmers whereas the income of the landless farmers increased from Rs 432908 to Rs 467540 after joining the FPOs. FPOs faced certain challenges such as lack of market awareness of members of FPOs, absence of business skills and exposure to formal and complex contract- based business transactions amongst farmers.