National and state governments, as well as developmental organisations are promoting Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) as an important governance structure so that farmers can gain better access to different services. However, access is still a problem because of poor awareness, knowledge and institutional linkages. Therefore, to build capacity of the 17 FPO leaders from Dindigul and Karur districts, an orientation session was organised on April 21 in Dindigul as part of ‘Life Long Learning for Farmers’ programme supported by COL, Canada.
Representatives from banks and government departments were the key resource persons for the session, and discussion was facilitated by Mr. R Seenivasan, Development Coordinator, at the Kannivadi field site, MSSRF. Farmers shared challenges faced while accessing schemes, which ranged from details of the scheme to requirements to access the scheme, and other terms and conditions.
Mr Arunachalam, Lead Bank Development Manager from Dindigul region, explained the credit schemes available from banks, the features, and ways by which FPOs can access the same. He also explained the application process to access Kisan Credit Cards. Mr. Dharmar, Director at Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI), briefed the farmers about various skill trainings available, eligibility criteria, certifications, as well as post-training support provided to FPOs.
Ms Sasireka, DEO at Vazhnthu Kattuvom project, explained various schemes, grants, and procedures required to join the schemes. Mr Krishna Kumar, Agribusiness and Marketing AO, and Mr Raja, Secretary, of Cooperative Credit Society, also explained the schemes available to FPOs. There was agreement that hand-holding support is essential for the FPO leaders to help them access schemes that are eligible for their business development.