With more than 7,000 farmers’ collectives on board the government’s e-commerce platform Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the agriculture ministry has started to train these entities on packaging, branding, marketing, credit linkages with banks, digital payments and statutory compliance.

Officials said that ONDC, which is being promoted as an alternative to global e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Walmart, has started imparting specialised training on various aspects of business development and marketing through workshops or melas organised by the agriculture ministry to be held across the country in the next one year.

“We plan to organise two mega events each month across cities where several of these farmers’ collectives will participate where training in collaboration of private sectors including banks and packaging major DCGpac will be organised,” an official told FE. Currently 55 FPOs are participating in the farmer producer organisation (FPO) mela being organised here and such events will be organised across the country.

Since the FPOs started joining the ONDC platform in April 2023, more than 7,638 such entities, out of 8,800 registered entities with the government so far, have sold as many as 3,100 varieties of value-added agricultural products using the facility.

“Since on board of ONDC this fiscal, we have crossed sales of Rs 4 million and the target is increase sales to Rs 7 million in FY25,” Tapas Kumar Pati, chief operating officer, BASIX Krishi Samruddhi , a group which has supported 80 FPO into ONDC in Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, sadi.

To provide farmers with better market access, an agriculture ministry official said, “The move to bring FPOs on ONDC aims to empower them with direct access to digital marketing, online payment, business-to-business, and business-to-consumer transactions.”

The network has more than 30 digital applications including Mystore, PayTM, Magicpin, and Delhivery, covering intercity logistics, and platforms for buyers and sellers. In April 2022, the government launched ONDC as a Section 8 company established by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade.

While ONDC has collaborated with the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), a body under the agriculture ministry, to support FPOs, officials said the aim is to support small and micro enterprises as FPOs face challenges in accessing markets nationwide.

Over 8,800 FPOs have been registered against the government target of 10,000 under a new Central Sector Scheme titled “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs” launched in 2020 with a budgetary provision of Rs 6,865 crore.

Under the scheme, FPOs are provided financial assistance up to Rs 1.8 million per FPO for a period of three years. In addition, provision has been made for matching equity grants up to Rs 2,000 per farmer member of an FPO with a limit of Rs 1.5 million per FPO.

The scheme also entails a credit guarantee facility up to Rs 20 million of project loan per FPO.

Now Farmer Producer Organization (FPO)
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