Our year-long study on financial inclusion and FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisation) is reaching its conclusion. The study extensively researched 20 FPOs spanned across India through consented interviews of various stakeholders including the CEOs, BoDs (board of directors), member farmers and non-member farmers. This particular blog tries to take the reader through the lens of a non-FPO member farmer in the vicinity of one of the FPOs that participated in our research. He justified his staying away with “there is no substantial benefit being a member of the FPO”. While we were not ready to take it at face value, it did make us wonder: What benefits do farmers get from being a member of a FPO?
Due to limited access to hard data and specific information, it is difficult to measure financial benefits an individual farmer may receive, whether as members and non-members. Hence we tried to explore other yardsticks that may help measure the benefits that membership of a FPO may bring.
Though measurement yardsticks developed and utilized by practitioners like us might be well-intended in their thoughts and actions but at the end of the day might be unfit in explaining ground realities from the perspective of the end beneficiaries.
From our interactions with organisations that fund and promote FPOs, and discussions with CEOs, board of directors, and members of FPOs and with non-members, we have reached the conclusion that while individual farmers may have access to information, there is very limited ‘shared understanding’ between the stakeholders.
Though using these five yardsticks to measure benefits from FPO membership may look credible in Indian conditions, unless every individual farmer perceives there are both tangible — in the form or monetary gains — and intangible benefits that they are receiving via FPOs, they are bound to remain sceptical about becoming a member of one, and keep raising the question, ‘What’s in it for me?’