The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned ₹102 lakh for setting up nine new Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in the district. Two of them would be promoting fisheries for the first time in Kurnool.
Speaking with The Hindu on Friday, the District Development Manager (DDM) of NABARD. A. Parthava said that the bank would be setting up the fisheries FPOs at Rudravaram and Velugodu. “There are small pockets of inland water, where fishes could thrive,” he added.
“All the organisations would be monitored by established NGOs that have expertise in the field. They would be acting as Producer Organisation Promoting Institution (POPI), for the next three years,” the DDM said.
Currently, there are 10 FPOs in the district producing a variety of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and dairy products. These were set up at a cost of ₹84.39 lakh, and have an annual turnover of ₹80.98 lakh.
Success story
The FPO set up at Y. Khanapur in Gudur mandal is the only profit-making organisation in the district. It supplies vegetables to the Srisailam temple on a daily basis and has recorded a profit last year.
A horticulture officer said in recognition of the successful running of the FPO, they had given it a van worth ₹18 lakh to help the farmers transport vegetables to the temple. The NABARD and the Horticulture Department established a solar cold storage facility for the farmers of the Y. Khanapur FPO.
Road ahead
“We want to strengthen the existing FPOs as viable business enterprises,” said Mr. Parthava, adding that NABARD was also looking into setting up fertilizer FPOs. An FPO of Kurnool was also exploring a tie-up with a company in Tamil Nadu to sell their produce, he said.
