◊ By Neelesh Gharmalkar

Note: To find organic brands, organic product suppliers, and organic shops in India, buy the Organic Directory 

Afarmer producer organisation (also known as a farmer producer company or FPC) is a firm registered under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for the welfare of farmers. Such companies are of the farmers, by the farmers and for the farmers; ie, shareholders, as well as, directors of the company are producers/farmers.

Such a company is a collective effort to grow, collect, process and market farm produce, thus benefiting farmers and consumers alike.

An example of a successful FPO would be Devbhumi Natural Products Producers Co Ltd, which is located in Uttarakhand. Formed in 2007, this organisation has 8,500 shareholders—all of them farmers/producers—most of them women.

Read more about Devbhumi and its work here.

Image Description: An example of a successful FPO would be Devbhumi Natural Products Producers Co Ltd, which is located in Uttarakhand. Formed in 2007, this organisation has 8,500 shareholders—all of them farmers/producers—most of them women. In this image: Local women of Uttarakhand have been trained in beekeeping and have turned into honey producers for Devbhumi. Photo courtesy of Devbhumi Natural Products Producers Co Ltd

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author is director of Greencert Biosolutions Private Limited, one of the 29 accredited agencies for organic certification in India.