Small and marginal farmers comprise 85% of all the farmers in India. They are plagued by issues such as lack of bargaining power, credit taxes, unavailability of farm inputs and access to various government and private sector-led farm interventions. Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) have the potential to address these issues and make agriculture viable for Indian farmers. FPOs have been around for the last twenty years, and recently we have seen exponential growth in their numbers. However, the promise of FPOs, while exponential, is currently limited by a key factor. If the goal of doubling farmer incomes is to be achieved, it is necessary to find ways to build the capabilities of FPO leaders. Across the board, it has been acknowledged that building and finding this capability has been a challenge.
To guide us through the myriad challenges that FPO capacity building entails, we have with us Mr Emmanual Murray for this episode of Decoding Impact. Mr Murray is currently working as an Investment Director at Caspian Equity, and is considered one of the most passionate and knowledgeable experts in the FPO ecosystem. In our conversation, we get a picture of the FPO landscape, the challenges that prevent the scaling up of FPOs, the quality of leaders needed for this ecosystem, the role of capital and some promises that these institutions hold for Indian farmers.
