ONE OF India's major private companies, ITC Limited, has achieved a remarkable feat in the past few months. Between November 2022 and February 2023, it has helped formation of 78 farmer producer companies (FPCS). Usually, it takes months to start an FPC.
FPC is a registered company, owned and operated by farmers. It is a type of farmer producer organisation (FPO) that deals in aggregated produce of a large number of member-owner farmers, helping them achieve economies of scale, increase their farm-level efficiency as well as the ability to negotiate prices in the market. Creating an FPC is a long-drawn process, involving mobilisation and training of farmers to run a company; but ITC achieved the feat by reaching out to farmers already registered on its e-Chaupal website for selling produce.
In helping formation of FPCS, ITC acted as a Cluster-Based Business Organisation (CBBO), a concept introduced in Union Budget 2019-20 under Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations—a Central scheme with an outlay of R6,865 crore—to provide hand-holding support to FPCs and to meet the target of creating 10,000 FPOs by 2024.
Any legal entity registered in India can be a CBBO, and receives R25 lakh from the government over a period of five years for every FPC it helps create or run. There are several other criteria an organisation needs to meet to be a CBBO (such as a minimum annual turnover of R2 crore in the plains and R1 crore in the hilly areas) which have resulted in mostly big organisations being able to qualify for the role.
Denne historien er fra April 16, 2023-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra April 16, 2023-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
