Tata-Cornell Institute Launches Hub for Farmer Producer Organizations to
Empower Smallholder Farmers in India
In an effort to empower India’s 125
million smallholder farms to take advantage of growing opportunities in
the agricultural sector, the Tata-Cornell Institute (TCI) for
Agriculture and Nutrition launched a Hub for Farmer Producer
Organizations (FPOs) within its Center of Excellence in New Delhi. The
Hub features a first-of-its-kind database of Indian FPOs. Created with
grant funding from the Walmart Foundation, the Hub will serve as a
repository of learnings, information, and knowledge
for the advancement of FPOs in India.
Small
farms are disadvantaged when it comes to accessing markets, credit, and
agricultural inputs such as seeds. By joining together in FPOs, farmers
work to jointly reduce costs and improve
market access, helping to drive higher agricultural productivity,
enhanced food security, and livelihood development.
Farmers
have formed FPOs since the early 2000s. Though interest promoting FPOs
is high among philanthropic actors, corporations, and the government,
there are still significant barriers to entry
for many, including limited financing opportunities and the time
required to become self-sufficient. In 2014, the Indian government began
a renewed push to promote FPOs.
“Farmer
producer organizations are crucial for both improving the livelihoods
of smallholder farmers and increasing the supply of diverse, nutritious
foods that are increasingly in demand
across India,” said Prabhu Pingali, director of TCI and professor
in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, with
joint appointments in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the
Department of Global Development in the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). “Through the FPO Hub, TCI aims to provide a foundation of data-based knowledge on top of which strong, effective FPOs can be built and sustained.”
A
critical part of the Hub is TCI’s Database for Indian FPOs, a new
platform that brings together information on thousands of FPOs to
facilitate research on small-farm aggregation models. TCI’s
database is the only centralized source of data on Indian FPOs
currently available. Through the interactive web-based dashboard,
researchers can access a wealth of data on FPOs, such as crops produced,
founding years, and sponsoring agencies. Ultimately, the
data will allow researchers at the Hub to formulate models to boost
smallholder farmer income and welfare.
“Bringing
together data on the over 4,400 FPOs in India will facilitate research
aimed at developing strong, effective FPO models,” Pingali said.
The
newly launched FPO Hub is supported by a $1 million grant by the Walmart
Foundation. Utilizing an analytical, data-based approach, the Hub will
aid in the understanding, development, and
promotion of effective farm-aggregation models and serve as a
dissemination platform through which stakeholders can access
information, technical help, and guidance.
“The
Walmart Foundation is committed to helping improve livelihoods for
smallholder farmers in India. With the grant funding to the TCI, we are
meaningfully advancing
research into Farmer Producer Organizations, which serve as vital
infrastructure for promoting market access and strengthening business
and agricultural practices,”
said Julie Gehrki, vice president of philanthropy at the Walmart Foundation. “With
TCI’s expertise, the FPO Hub will connect multiple institutions who are
directly engaged in supporting farmers and farm aggregators to
strengthen the agri-value chain.”
To
celebrate the launch of the FPO Hub, TCI hosted a virtual panel on
Wednesday, September 1, to address the barriers faced by smallholder
farmers and FPOs, titled “Farmer Producer Organizations,
Small Farms and the Future of Food Systems in India.”
