Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) is Registered

The government of India through the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), a registered society under the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India, is promoting Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) by mobilizing the farmers and helping them in registering as companies and providing them with handholding support and training for their sustainability. SFAC has undertaken various FPO promotion programmes in the country such as through Vegetable Initiative for Urban Cluster (VIUC), Mission Organic Value Chain Development (MOVCD), National Food for Security Mission (NFSM), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) etc.. SFAC has promoted 910 FPOs in the country out of which 58 FPOs are from Uttar Pradesh.

This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha .

Government of India has launched a Central Sector Scheme of “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)” on 29th February, 2020 for providing better facilities to farmers due to economy of scale and better bargain power of FPOs thus improving income of the member farmers. Under this scheme, provision is made for professional handholding support for a period of five years to new FPOs formed. Further, a provision has been made for matching equity grant upto Rs. 2,000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of Rs. 15.00 lakh per FPO and a credit guarantee facility upto Rs. 2 crore of project loan per FPO from eligible lending institution to ensure institutional credit accessibility to FPOs. Suitable provision for training and skill buildings of the FPOs has also been made.  Already more than 2200 FPOs produce clusters have been allocated during 2020-21 for formation of FPOs. Farmers are enthusiastically participating under the scheme for formation of FPOs. The process of registration of FPOs is already initiated.