Government starts weekly webinar for FPOs; Mother Dairy shares plan on oilseeds purchase
Extract
from the article:
The Government of India has initiated a weekly webinar series targeted at
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), aiming to enhance knowledge dissemination
and capacity building for these grassroots agricultural collectives. This
virtual initiative seeks to enable FPOs to better understand government
schemes, procurement procedures, and agricultural best practices, thereby
strengthening their operational capabilities and market access. The move
underscores the administration’s recognition of FPOs as pivotal facilitators in
empowering small farmers and enhancing agricultural value chains at the
micro-level.
Simultaneously, Mother Dairy announced a strategic plan to
procure oilseeds directly from farmers, integrating FPOs into their supply
chain to create transparent, reliable procurement channels. This not only
promises improved price realization for farmers but also aims to stabilize
supply for edible oil processing units. The article highlights how these steps
represent a concerted push towards formalizing and streamlining agricultural
markets, which could help mitigate the volatility that often plagues commodity
prices. The weekly webinars and Mother Dairy’s procurement roadmap collectively
signify a strengthening of institutional interfaces between farmers and
aggregators, with an emphasis on inclusivity, transparency, and sustainability
in agricultural trade.
My
Take:
A. Irony
of Amul
Reading about government initiatives to engage FPOs through webinars and
strategic procurement brings to mind my earlier reflections on how dairy giants
like Amul struggled with excess inventory despite record milk collection. In
that blog, I pointed out that Amul had amassed enormous stocks of skimmed milk
powder during the lockdown when bulk demand dipped sharply. The irony was
stark—while production and collection soared, the marketing and distribution
channels were not quite in sync, leaving Amul in a stockpile predicament.
I had argued that systemic disconnects between procurement
and demand forecasting had led to this mismatch, something that continued
engagement, knowledge sharing, and robust market linkages could address. The
current government approach to educate FPOs and provide them direct avenues for
procurement mirrors this very insight. It suggests that with better
communication and institutional support, such inventory gluts and volatility
might be avoided, allowing farmers’ produce to reach markets efficiently. Reflecting
on the “Irony of Amul” now, I see that the proposed FPO webinars and Mother
Dairy plans could well be practical solutions to the kind of supply-demand
dissonance I had forewarned years ago.
B. Dear
PM, How About Felicitating Ramilaben?
The government’s renewed focus on Farmer Producer Organizations dovetails with
my earlier emphasis on recognizing grassroots leaders like Ramilaben Patel, who
epitomize the spirit of small-scale agricultural entrepreneurship, especially
women who form the backbone of India’s dairy and farming sectors. In that
piece, I underscored the vital contributions of women farmers and entrepreneurs
and advocated celebrating their achievements through national recognition.
The weekly webinars for FPOs represent much-needed
institutional support in line with empowering such unsung heroes. By making
knowledge and procurement opportunities accessible, the authorities are
fostering inclusivity and alleviating asymmetries in the agricultural
ecosystem. This approach not only enhances market linkages but could also drive
social recognition by spotlighting the success of FPO members, many of whom are
women. I see this development as a validation of my previous calls to honor and
help these changemakers, which is crucial for sustainable rural upliftment.
Call to
Action:
To the Ministry of Agriculture and allied Departments — I urge you to leverage
the webinar platform to include modules specifically tailored for capacity
building around digital literacy, quality assessment, and collective bargaining
skills for FPO members. Additionally, integrating success stories of women
entrepreneurs like Ramilaben Patel during these sessions could inspire wider
participation and leadership within these collectives. Please ensure
transparent feedback loops so that government schemes can be continuously
fine-tuned based on FPO ground realities. Mother Dairy should consider
formalizing long-term procurement agreements with leading FPOs, providing price
guarantees to increase farmer confidence and stabilize supply chains.
Empowering these farmer groups through sustained knowledge
support and market linkages will catalyze a productive cycle of growth,
resilience, and prosperity in Indian agriculture — a vision I have long
championed and now see coming to fruition.
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
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