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This Maharashtra Farmer's Co-operative Has Proved To Be

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This Maharashtra
 Farmer's Co-operative Has Proved To Be
A BoonFor The Small Farmer
10/07/2017 8:38 AM IST | Updated 10/07/2017 11:43 AM IST

FARM PRODUCE IS BEING GRADED AND WEIGHED DURING PROCUREMENT. (PHOTO COURTESY MAHAPFC)

Farm produce is being graded and weighed during procurement. (Photo courtesy MAHAPFC)

By Ajit Kanitkar*, June 30, 2017

The agricultural seasons of 2016-17 (Kharif and Rabi) have not been favourable for farmers
across the country. In spite of the near-normal monsoon rainfall in India in 2016 coupled
with record farm production, wholesale and retail prices for agricultural commodities have
been depressed for most of the year.

The uncertainties associated with the government announced Minimum Support Price
(MSP) procurement operations have added to the farmers' woes. Added to this scenario is
the overall desperation and gloom in the countryside, leading to an increasing number of
farmers' suicides in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and even in the northern Indian states
of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Amidst this worrisome situation, a few examples of collective action shine as beacons of
hope. The MAHA Farmers Producer Co. Ltd (MAHAFPC), the apex organisation of over
200 farmer producer companies in Maharashtra, is a case in point. In the recently
 This Maharashtra Farmer's Co-operative Has Proved To Be A Boon For The …
concluded procurement season, MAHAFPC did business of over ₹1.68 billion. This was
MAHAFPC's first year of business operation.
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“The uncertainties associated with




the government announced

Minimum
 Support Price (MSP)
procurement operations have
added to the farmers' woes.



The organisation was designated by the central government as the lead agency in

Maharashtra, along with National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India
Ltd (NAFED) and other government agencies, to procure red gram under the
government's MSP program. The MAHAFPC took up this challenge in all earnestness and
ensured that all its members (the producer companies) and, in turn, their members benefit
from active participation in the MSP procurement.

Showing the way

The MAHAFPC's role is commendable because it is acting as an aggregator of

aggregators. While the individual FPCs are close to the farmers and are often the first
point of contact with their members in diverse locations, MAHAFPC acted as an apex
organization that aggregated the demands of the members, their members being
individual FPCs.

While individual FPCS catered to an average of 300 to 500 farmers in their area of
operations, the economies of scale that an aggregator brought was the value addition as
an apex. MAHAFPC was effective in coordinating with national organizations such as
Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) and establish linkages with the
departments of the state and central governments.

“The MAHAFPC ensured that all its

members (the producer companies)
and, in turn, their members benefit
from active participation in the MSP
procurement.
Succour to smallholders
The MAHAFPC and its outreach indicated that it catered to the needs of the smallholders.
 This Maharashtra Farmer's Co-operative Has Proved To Be A Boon For The …
Having procured commodities worth ₹1.7 billion from 26,800 farmers, the value of
commodity procured per farmer was ₹60,000. In volume, with 332,270 quintals of
produce procured fromRSS
26,803
FAQfarmers, the average
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quintals. These numbers show that small farmers could participate in the MSP operations

only because they had someone representing them in the market, namely the FPC that
 of. In 50% of the cases, the procurement centres had mechanical
they were members
cleaning and grading facility that ensured that only certain Fair Accepted Quality (FAQ)

produce was procured.

There is another story beyond these numbers. When the state government had
operations, the state machinery was not adequately prepared to receive
announced MSP
the huge quantities of tur dal (red gram). As a result, there were long queues of farmers

waiting for close to seven days outside the government market yards, waiting for their turn
to come in for selling their produce. In contrast, the farm gate procurement arrangement
made by members of the MAHAPFC was a boon to the farmers.

Diversified reach across regions

One of the noteworthy features of the role of MAHAFPC was that it covered a large
number of districts from Chandrapur and Yavatmal in the eastern part of Maharashtra to
Ahmednagar in the west. The procurement covered districts of Vidharbha and
Marathwada that had consistently reported distress. Districts like Sholapur, Ahmednagar,
Beed, and Osmanabad that are perennially drought-prone also figured in the procurement
of pulses.

“The decentralized approach

ensured that not only farmers from
resource-rich regions benefited
from the MSP operations, but also
ensured coverage of otherwise
marginalized districts.
The credit for such diversified procurement goes to the dispersed presence of farmer
producer companies across the state. The decentralised approach thus ensured that not
only farmers from resource-rich regions benefited from the MSP operations, but also
ensured coverage of otherwise marginalised districts.

Farmer leaders as promoters

A noteworthy feature of the management of MAHAFPC is the team of young educated
 This Maharashtra Farmer's Co-operative Has Proved To Be A Boon For The …
farmers who are steering the organisation. Yogesh Thorat, Managing Director, is one of
the key promoters of one FPC in Ahmednagar. He was also the lead person in the
formation of the apex organisation.
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management, he represents the new face of farmers, those who have close connections

with the community but are also linked to the changing dynamics of the market.

It was his initiative in 2015 that brought together many FPCs in the state. He established a

forum that represented to the state and the central government authorities. It was his
initiative that saw the SFAC entrusting the responsibility of the procurement of red gram

this season.

In a daylong meeting organised in Pune in June this year, MAHAFPC brought out a

detailed note titled the Pulse of Agribusiness. The note reviewed its performance of the
procurement season. There was a brainstorming session with all the board members and
representative of the FPCs. This author was present in that meeting.

“A graduate in agriculture and

postgraduate in management,
Yogesh Thorat represents the new
face of farmers — those who have
close connections with the
community but are also linked to
the changing dynamics of the
market.
It was a refreshing sight to see the members of the FPC debating about the future of the
organisation and what other business activities that they could undertake in the coming
season. They looked at the national and global scenario in agriculture and how and what
opportunities could be tapped by them in this scenario. Experts from the agriculture
ministry were invited to guide the board members. It was a meeting that was organised for
a purpose and was managed like any other professional business meeting of a corporate
entity.
 This Maharashtra Farmer's Co-operative Has Proved To Be A Boon For The …

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
A MEETING OF MAHAFPC THAT WAS HELD RECENTLY IN PUNE, MAHARASHTRA. (PHOTO COURTESY MAHAPFC)

A meeting of MAHAFPC that was held recently in Pune, Maharashtra. (Photo courtesy MAHAPFC)

Lessons for the future

MAHAFPC's work offers valuable lessons for both the government and the farming
community. There is no alternative but to invest in organising and building institutions of
small and marginal farmers if they have to be supported. If small and marginal farmers
have to link with input and output markets, there does not seem to be an institutional
mechanism except cooperatives and newly engaged farmer producer companies.

Unfortunately, most of the cooperatives, even in the developed states of the country, have
become highly politicised, and their leadership is more aligned to promoting their political
agendas rather than taking care of their members' interests. Hence, FPCs are possibly the
only institutional alternative left who have the potential to act as true representative of
small and marginal farmers.

“Unfortunately, most of the

cooperatives have become highly
politicized and their leadership is
more aligned to promoting their
political agendas rather than taking
care of their members' interests.
The recently concluded procurement operation of red gram in Maharashtra has
demonstrated the power of aggregation of small farmers and the resultant scale of
economic activity. If managed well, the FPCs can become a key stakeholder and represent
interests of their members, who are mostly small and marginal farmers.
Another important lesson is that the mere announcement of policy interventions such as
 This Maharashtra Farmer's Co-operative Has Proved To Be A Boon For The …
MSP are unlikely to yield desirable results, especially in terms of last mile outreach. The
government needs to collaborate actively with other actors in the citizen space such as
the MAHAFPC. Such a RSS
collaboration
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interventions for small farmers.


Ajit Kanitkar is a Consultant for Tata Education and Development Trust and a Member of

the research team at Centre for Development and Research in Pune. Prior to this, he was
at Ford Foundation, India office, and Swiss Agency for Development and
Program Officer
Cooperation, both in New Delhi. He taught at Institute of Rural Management, Anand,

during 1992-1995.

This article was first published on VillageSquare.in, a public-interest communications

platform focused on rural India.

MORE:

agrarian crisis business cooperatives farmer suicide india

marginal farmers tur dal prices

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