The Odisha government announced on Sunday that it will spend Rs 313.61 crore over the next five years to support the state’s farmer-producer organizations (FPOs).
The decision was made today at the Odisha Cabinet meeting, which was held virtually from Kyoto, Japan.
The Cabinet decided that the state government will spend Rs 313.61 crore between fiscal years 2023-24 and 2027-28 to implement the ‘Support to Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)’ program in the state.
The scheme was launched with the goal of assisting over 1,000 FPOs in Odisha over the next five years. According to a press release issued by the government today, the scheme will benefit at least three lakh farmers.
The scheme aims to support the state’s FPO ecosystem through credit linkage as well as financial, technical, and infrastructural assistance. The scheme will facilitate market linkage and provide better income opportunities for farmers in the state.
The scheme will assist farmers in obtaining fair prices for their products, thereby ensuring the socioeconomic development of small and marginal farmers.
It aims to provide an additional income of Rs 2000 per month per farmer member of FPOs. To achieve this goal, the scheme will implement interventions such as FPO Promotional Campaign, Operational and Handholding Support, Capacity Building and Industry Exposure, Access to Finance, Marketing Support and Export Linkage, Management and Governance Support to attract/retain professionals for FPO management, Establish Center of Excellence for FPOs, Single Windows System for FPOs, Facilitation of Education and Research on FPOs, Performance-Linked Incentivization, and Performance-Linked Incentivization.
Every month, a State-level committee (SLC) chaired by the Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, will monitor the scheme’s implementation every quarter. The Project Management Unit (PMU) under the Directorate of Horticulture will take the responsibility of implementation of the scheme in accordance with the Annual Action Plan.
Source:OCN