Mayiladuthurai and Puducherry Fish Farmer Producer Organisations members taken on exposure visit to Nallavur Farmer Producer Company Ltd, Villupuram

Fish for All Research and Training centre after being awarded as Cluster Based Business Organisation (CBBO) under Centre Sector Scheme by National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Ministry of Fisheries, Government of India has been involved in the formation and promotion of two Fish Farmer Producer Organisation (FFPO) in Tamil Nadu and one FFPO in Puducherry.

As a part of this initiative, the MSSRF Fish for All Research and Training Centre has initiated interventions including baseline survey, situation assessment, community mobilisation, cluster finalisation, formation of farmer interest groups, conducting meetings, selection of Board of Directors (BoD), Training of BoD and other handholding requirements.

An exposure visit was organised for BoD members from three FFPOs to Nallavur Farmer Producer Company Ltd, Villupuram district promoted by MSSRF on April 28th. Totally, 20 BoD members and seven MSSRF- CBBO staff participated in the exposure visit, learning more about the business activities and planning undertaken by FPOs.

The exposure visit started with an overview by Dr. S. Velvizhi, Head, Fish for All Centre, explainin in detail the significance of the exposure visit. She also introduced the BoD members of the Fish FPO to members of the Nallavur FPO. Mr. Nandeesh, CEO – Nallavur FPO, explained in detail functions of farmer producer organisations, its services, collective action, business formulation and benefit sharing, also the role of the leader. Ms. Sangeetha, Chairman of Nallavur Farmer Producer Company briefed the participants on the growth of their FPO, challenges faced, failures experienced, lessons learned, and victories enjoyed.

This visit also created an opportunity for the BoD’s of the three Fish Farmer Producer Organisation and Nallavur Farmers Producer Company to interact with each other on planning their business. Later the participants visited the infrastructure and business outlets developed by Nallavur FPO for business promotion. Based on the feedback from the participants, it is obvious that this exposure visit has increased the enthusiasm among the BoD’s to run their business through collective action.