The lockdown imposed in the wake coronavirus witnessed middlemen exploiting farmers, especially those in the rural areas, who were unable to transport their produce to the markets in the nearest towns and cities in the absence of proper transport facilities.
However, the farmers from Saravakota, Meliaputti, Vajrapukotturu, Pathapatnam and Jalumuru of Srikakulam district could check the domination of middlemen by forming into Farmers Producers’ Organisations (FPOs). The FPOs also helped them fetch good price for their produce, apart from ensuring marketing facilities and financial assistance.
Unable to afford the exorbitant prices the private transporters were charging to shift the produce to the markets, many farmers were forced to sell their yields to middlemen at lesser prices. Lack of transport and limited market hours also fuelled the distressed sale.
Now, the FPOs are helping the farmers decide the prices of cashew, paddy, banana, broomsticks, flowers and vegetables.
For instance, middlemen forced the farmers to sell raw cashew at ₹80 or ₹90 per quintal when compared to the regular price of ₹110 per quintal. The middlemen offered lesser prices under the pretext of lack of transport facility, inferior quality of produce and others.
Farmers were forced to sell banana for ₹260 a bunch when compared to the wholesale market price of ₹350 a bunch. Middlemen bought broomsticks at ₹40 a kg against the local market price of ₹50 per kg.
Thousands of farmers are now getting benefited with the formation of FPOs recently.
Bapuji Rural Enlightenment and Development Society (BREDS) Chief Executive Officer A. RamaKrishna Raju helped the farmers register as FPOs under the Companies Act.
The BREDS has trained more than 4,000 farmers in modern farming technologies in the last two decades. However, we observed that it is not adequate unless the farmers fetch good prices for their produce. Four FPOs —Green Blend, Mana Sedyam, Siridhanyalu and Farmbowl have been formed with the support of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), he said.
“Now, the trained staff of the FPOs are verifying the market prices of produce in the markets in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam and nearby Odisha. The produces are sent to the markets wherever decent prices are offered. Bulk transport also helps reduce the expenditure. FPOs are distributing the dividend among the member farmers,” he said.
Organic farming
Now, the FPOs are focussing on organic farming to minimise the farming expenditure. For instance, the farmers were spending nearly ₹18,000 per acre in paddy cultivation under conventional methods in which usage of fertilizers and pesticides were compulsory and the actual income was around ₹35, 000 per acre.
Now, many farmers are being trained in organic farming methods.
“Our expenditure has come down to ₹8,000 per acre after we adopted organic farming methods. The demand for organic paddy is also more,” said B. Anand and Lova Suryanarayana, farmers of Pathapatnam.
BREDS Secretary V. Sambamurthy said that the farmers are being trained in agriculture byproducts. “Dry fruits and honey are in much demand after the coronavirus outbreak. We are trained farmers in packing and preservation techniques too,” he added.
