Dr. K. Parameswaran
The concept of an “Agripreneur” is slowly gaining ground in the agriculture sector in the country. The term entrepreneur is quite familiar; so is the term agriculturist. The agripreneur is one who plays the role of an entrepreneur in the field of agriculture.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural development (NABARD) is in the fore front of pioneering this concept. Its Assistant General Manager at Madurai, Sankar Narayan says that NABARD is actively working with farmers federations in Usilampatti and Chellampatti to transform agriculturists into agripreneurs.
Producer Organizations
NABARD has floated another concept also called Producers Organizations, as a first step towards the realization of changing farmers into agricultural entrepreneurs or agripreneurs.
A producer organization comprises of a group of producers who have joined hands for the purpose of either agricultural or non agricultural activities. NABARD has specified that it should be a registered legal body. It has also been specified that only actual producers – especially farmers – should be shareholders in the organization.
NABARD will extend support to the producers’ organizations by providing term loan and working capital, support to capacity building and help in the creation of marketing linkages. Support in terms of loan and grant is available to any registered producer company, cooperatives, registered farmers federations, etc. Under the Financial Intervention schemes of the Government, NABARD will also provide loans directly to the producer organizations. These loans can either be term loans or composite loans comprising of both working capital and term loan requirements.
Since many of these newly formed producer organizations may not be very familiar with processes and procedures of availing loans, subsidies etc., and since many of them may lack the soft skills to become a full fledged Agripreneur, NABARD will also extend grant support for need based skill building, guide business planning and support technological extension through classroom training, exposure visits, agricultural university tie ups, expert meetings, etc., For marketing efforts of the producer organization, NABARD will provide assistance for setting up of marketing infrastructure facilities for sale of produce.
PODF
An Organization Development Fund – a dedicated fund by the name ‘Producers Organization Development Fund (PODF) – has also been set up in this connection by NABARD. The main purpose of this fund is to support comprehensively the various producer organizations in different forms across the country.
As Sankar Narayan explains “farmers have not only to adopt latest technological practices, but they should also have access to all the necessary resources. For instance, they should collectively source inputs, own farm implements and give out on hire to fellow farmers and even sell their produce collectively so that they command the best price. All this requires unity and mobilization for which NABARD encourages formation of farmers clubs, joint liability groups and farmers club federations – all of which can eventually take the shape of producer organizations.
S.Natarajan, DGM, NABARD, Madurai said that farmers’ federations and NGOs functioning in a transparent manner should take advantage of the support available for producers’ organizations. When the entire farming community is craving for better farm income, this concept will help in empowering them and give them the crucial hold on pricing decisions. However, professional functioning will be a key factor, when the organisations are assessed for support by NABARD. With flexible interest rates and support for capacity building, this product from NABARD will be a win-win.
Views from Some Producers Organizations
Banana Ripening Chambers for the banana growers of Varadarajapuram, Tiruchi, Coffee growers in Dindigul, Drip Irrigation in Tirunelveli Cotton ginning in Ramanathapuram etc. are some of the examples of producers organizations that are on the way to becoming very good agripreneurs.
Perumal from the OPR Federation in Tirunelveli says that “support from NABARD has helped us cover our entire village under the novel DRIP irrigation technology and thereby survive on scarce water. This support also helped us to bring in convergence in the form of subsidy support from the horticulture and other departments.
Kanakama and Krishnaveni from Dindugul say confidently that the concept of agripreneurs is indeed a workable and practical one. They have pointed out that even woman’s self help groups have been able to maximize their income in a more efficient manner through the networking with various producers’ organizations.
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