Farmer Producer Organizations in India: Policy, Performance, and Design Issues

Abstract

This chapter analyses the organisational design issues of these organisations in the country from an all-India baseline survey of 258 producer organisations with a focus on producer companies including detailed case analysis of 21 producer organizations during 2011-14 and an action research on developing sustainable producer organization during 2007-14. While there have been budgetary commitments, extension of support, and legal provision for producer companies during the last ten years by the government, development agencies, and civil society organizations, the performance of the producer organizations have been much below expectations. The financial gains to producer members have not been significant with only Rs.1492/- per member per month and a net income of Rs.480/- per member per month. The author focuses on the status of internal organizational design of producer organizations viz., size, scope, technology, governance and ownership for greater cooperative action and sustainability and argues for the need of simultaneous design of above five organisational design parameters.

This study was carried out with the grant support from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mumbai as part of its NABARD Chair Unit at XIMB and the Rabo Bank Foundation, The Netherlands.