Farmer producer organizations and innovative policy options for enhancing farmers’ income in India Gangwar L.S, Hasan S.S, Prakash Brahm, Sharma A.K., Singh Kamini, Pathak A.D. ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, 226 002, Email: lal.gangwar@icar.gov.in Online Published on 16 April, 2022. Abstract This paper attempts to explore the antecedents and socio-economic welfare implications of small and marginal farm households’ engagement in value chain and group formation through farmer producer Organizations/company (FPOs) by using primary data collected from household selected from Uttar Pradesh. The formation of FPOs has considered as a promising approach for ameliorating socio-economic condition of small and marginal farmers. There should be suitable mechanism, by laws and policies for selection of FPO members. The Government of India (GOI) announced a scheme for establishment and promotion of nearly 10,000 FPOs by the year 2024–25. This scheme has been implemented by the NABARD, SFAC and NGOs. The study based on the primary data collected from the 480 respondents; 240 members of FPOs and 240 non-members of FPOs selected from three regions namely Western, central and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. To analyse the difference in socio-economic status of an FPO member and non FPO member, the equal number of respondents were selected from same or nearby village. The simple tabular analysis was used as tool to estimate the comparative descriptive statistics and to identify major constraints in functioning of FPOs. The socio-economic evaluation and impact assessment of the selected FPOs revealed the tangible and intangible benefits for the small and marginal farmers associated with the product value chain. The members of FPOs have better access to loan, storage, output, and input markets, as well as their bargaining power with traders as compared to non-member. The study concludes that the FPO-affliated households had higher levels of income, consumption and investment, as well as less indebtedness. The study suggests that FPOs should focus on maximizing price for their produce through the product differentiation and quality assurance to the metropolitan urban consumers. Top |