Bhubaneswar : As the year of millets comes to a closure, millet-based campaigns were seen throughout the year. On the other hand, for the past several years, Odisha has held the baton as a millet-leading state, achieving the promotion of healthier dietary choices and increasing farmers' income through its sensational millet magic approach. An outlook that includes adopting a solution-based method and targeting grass-root problems faced by the farmers in the state, majorly not getting enough for their yields. Tackling this and several other issues, aiding the Farmers Producers Organisations has been the state’s one of the numerous responses. 

Farmers Producers Organisations or FPOs, are groups formed by farmers themselves and act as an aggregator for member farmers, including from inputs to output, which then enhances the economy of scale and bargaining power of member farmers. In the case of unsold lots, logistics arrangements are to be made by FPO. In simplified terms, the end goal of a FPO is to increase the producer's income through an organisation of their own.

A small producer enters the market with low-volume produce, which often falls short of taking advantage of economies of sale. When it comes to agricultural marketing, a chain of intermediaries frequently operates in an opaque manner, leaving the producer with little of the value that the final customer pays. An organisation with multiple beneficiaries and a huge volume of produce can eliminate this unpleasant chain of intermediaries, and the primary producers can get a good return on their yield.

In Odisha specifically, adopting this approach has worked wonders for local farmers. The Odisha Millets Mission, an active body dedicated to overseeing the movement of millet acceptance in the state, has encouraged several FPOs to create marketing avenues for the rural population. Each block in the state is set to have an active, functioning FPO, used to disseminate information, provide necessary business training, and help farmers sell their produce at a much higher rate.

At a service price of Rs 31.5 per quintal (including labour expenses) plus 1% of the MSP, the FPOs are free to sell the processed millets on the open market or assist in aggregating the produce and supplying it to the Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation of Odisha Limited (TDCCOL). 

The increased interest in working to create new FPOs has pushed the state’s millet economy. Helping various women self-help groups register themselves as FPO gives these hard-working individuals a better chance at market representation, empowering them to take on challenges. Despite having a small budget, the FPOs have proven to be a dynamic choice to address multiple issues at once, which will ultimately lead to increased aid as the Odisha Millets Mission enters its next phase.

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