District Development Commissioner (DDC) Pulwama Dr. Raghav Langer today reviewed the formation and promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) scheme.DDC said that the Central Government has initiated the formation and promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) Scheme 2020-21 to boost the economies of farmers.He said the centre will create 10,000 FPOs over a period of five years from 2019-20 to 2023-24 and it will continue to provide support for each FPO from 5 years of establishment.The DDC said that all Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs) are intended to provide a platform to small farmers to enable them to collectively meet their challenges such as access to agricultural inputs and marketing of produce.He also said that the government is trying to ensure that the capital cost of farmers is reduced, productivity is increased and farmers get fair prices for their produce.The DDC said that the government efforts are also made to bring agricultural markets closer to farming areas and in the next few years, rural haats (village markets) will become the new centers of the agricultural economy.He said that by putting scientific knowledge and skill in existing systems would also bring positive changes in farming.The DDC directed the concerned Officers to designate the Nodal Officers for effective implementation of the scheme and added that the requisite information related to the respective departments and potential activities shall be submitted within weeks’ time.
During the meeting, DDC was apprised by the agriculture department that 07 clusters have been identified for formation of FPOs with the activities ranging from organic farming, honey production, saffron cultivation and introduction of exotic vegetables.Departments including Horticulture, animal husbandry, sheep husbandry, fisheries and allied sectors also informed about their potential in the formation and promotion of Farmer Producer organisations .The meeting was attended by Chief Agriculture Officer, Chief Horticulture Officer, Deputy General Manager, NABARD and officials of allied sectorsEarlier the District Development Commissioner also reviewed the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund Scheme under NABARD. The scheme mainly includes activities like agriculture and allied sector, Social sector and rural connectivity.Deputy General Manager, NABARD briefed the meeting that a total amount of 1855.43 lakhs has been outlaid for the financial year 2020 -21 including a loan amount of 1169.80 lakh under NABARD besides 185.5 lakh under UT share.A total of 41 projects have been sponsored by NABARD in the district in which 20 projects stand completed.During the review, DDC directed the concerned officers to set timelines for the completion of incomplete projects and submit monthly project reports.He directed the officers to submit the project completion certificates of the Completed projects besides the report for the further course of action.