Blog
Team Social Xleration, 25th October 2021
Introduction
The importance of women farmers in Indian agriculture cannot be overstated. It is a known fact that women end up spending more time on the fields than their male counterparts as they are involved in numerous farming activities of growing nurseries, transplanting, weeding, sorting amongst others. However, despite a high level of toil, they end up not getting just rewards as they are excluded from land titles and decision-making. Lower exposure to the markets is a major impediment and reason for the precarious position of the Indian women farmers since the power of what to buy and whom and how much to sell remains with men.
An effective solution to this concern is the promotion and adoption of aggregation methods of women-based Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) which can enhance their capacities and create strong market linkages. Acknowledging this, various parts of the country have been a witness to the creation of many women-based FPOs, which are strengthening the position of women farmers in their milieus. A few such initiatives are captured in this write-up.
Bihar
In Bihar, as per the guidelines of the National Rural Livelihood Mission guidelines announced in December 2017, the JEEViKA program began large-scale promotion of women-based farmer producer companies, which are self-led and governed. The producer companies though hit certain roadblocks over time and the program partnered with a technical agency, TechnoServe, to address the issue limiting the growth of the women farmer producer companies. The entire effort was christened Women Advancement in Rural Development and Agriculture (WARDA) and was introduced in various districts of Bihar. WARDA brought in systemic efficiencies such as teaching women members to have favorable written contracts rather than mere verbal agreements, which enhanced the farmer producer companies’ revenues and members’ incomes. Collaborations with technical institutions were forged such as the partnership with National Research Centre on Litchi for better orchard management techniques. It was also ensured that payment was made to women farmers at the earliest, which enhanced their decision-making status within their homes. Linkages with online platforms such as Ffresh- NeML, which further augmented the business of producer companies.
Madhya Pradesh
Another initiative in the context of women-led farmer producer companies is being implemented by TechnoServe in Madhya Pradesh. The organization has collaborated with Visa Inc. to implement a program to promote women’s leadership in producer companies in Khargone and Bharwani districts of the state. The program is expected to be particularly beneficial for small landholding women farmers who once linked with the producer companies will have improved negotiating power, greater transparency, and secure a higher price for their produce. The organization will collaborate with 4,500 women farmers from three farmer producer companies.
Odisha
In Odisha, a leading rural development NGO, PRADAN facilitated the formation of the Koraput Nari Sakti Farmer Producer Company when it was registered under the Companies Act, 2013 on 23 July 2020. This farmer organization is claimed to be the first women-led organization to be formed in the tribal-dominated district of Koraput in the state. The farmer organization was preceded by years of work undertaken by PRADAN to form women self-help groups (SHGs) which brought the women together. Their issues were understood and their capacities related to agriculture and allied activities were developed. They acted as producer groups, which developed a consolidated plan starting from the households’ level progressing to the village level finally going up to the block level. As per the plan, they centrally purchased the inputs at the negotiated and economical price and provided them to the women farmers based on the demand. They also marketed collectively and developed an annual training calendar based on crop planning. The Agriculture Production Cluster (APC) project launched by the Government of Odisha further strengthened the women farmers’ efforts. The project designated producer groups as APCs and allocated funding to them. It provided access to women to various government schemes and supports local agricultural entrepreneurs. Gradually, the producer company was formed in 2020, which has 350 women members and deals in farm millets, chilly, ginger and beans, and backyard poultry and goat. It also receives support from Walmart Foundation.
Jharkhand
Under the initiative Jharkhand Opportunities for Harnessing Rural Growth Project (JOHAR), the women SHGs formed under the World Bank supported National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in Jharkhand to form women based FPOs. Today, 19 FPOs are being operated by women farmers. The JOHAR initiative is facilitated by the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), which is part of the department of rural development. It involves farming, animal husbandry, fisheries, irrigation, and other activities. JSLPS also links rural homes to producer groups and companies. Under the JOHAR program, 11 agrimarts have been set up in 11 districts of the state which are operated by the women FPOs, where they retail quality agricultural produce to farmers at economical prices and also provide expert agricultural advice at no cost. These agrimarts have been supposed to benefit 4,000 farmers and do an annual business in excess of INR 700,000.
Maharashtra
The model of collectivizing women in SHGs and forming farmers producer companies is also being implemented in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Under the UMED-Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MSRLM), a rural livelihood enhancement project, 15 women farmers producer companies have been formed. This was preceded by the formation of 4.5 lakh SHGs, over 8,000 producer groups, and the same number of enterprises. Participating in the process of formation of women farmers producer companies were BASIX, the technical support agency, and also UNDP and Arya Collateral, which helped in developing groups and training them as Women Sourcing Managers. The 15 farmers producer companies are present location including remotest districts of the state. The districts are Gadchiroli, Gondia, Chandrapur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Palghar, Nandurbar Beed, Jalna, and Solapur. It is noteworthy that the FPCs are doing well financially and each producer company is clocking an average annual turnover of Rs.1.5 to Rs.2.5 crores with a focus on trading activities and joint purchase of seeds and fertilizers. Firmly in the drivers’ seat, the women leaders and members are in for much better times ahead.
Conclusion
The above examples are glowing instances of women moving up the agricultural growth ladder through the means of FPOs. It requires a collaborative effort of the government, civil society, private sector, funding agencies, and society at large to provide grounds and develop them for the collectivization of women farmers under FPOs so that they could upgrade their skills, derive fair incomes for themselves from the farm activities and have a greater say in their farming-related matters. This will also enhance their status in their households as well as the larger society. The above examples of successful FPOs need to be further studied and efforts need to be made for their large-scale replication. Only then, the invisible and greater work of women farmers will be truly acknowledged and rewarded and they will attain an equal say and rights as their men counterparts.