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Organic farmers in good company

Farmers of Punjab, Rajasthan join hands to set up firm to sell produce directly to end users

Harpreet Bajwa

Posted online: Monday, December 03, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST

Chandigarh, December 2
For the first time in North India, a group of farmers from Punjab and Rajasthan has decided to form a company to market their produce directly to the end users.

Talking with The Indian Express, Umendra Dutt, Executive Director of the company christened Kudrati Kheti Producers Company Limited, said: “It is a new generation cooperative that will make provision for the education of its members besides promoting cooperation among the producer companies.’’

The company was conceived on November 11 when more than 50 organic farmers from Punjab and Rajasthan met up to discuss its contours under the benign eye of eminent agricultural marketing economist Dr Sukhpal Singh from Centre for Management in Agriculture, IIM, Ahmedabad.

Dutt says Dr Singh introduced the concept of farmers company. “He impressed upon us the need for such a company to make farming profitable since there is no organisation at the village level to support farmers in their marketing initiatives. “

It was then that the farmers decided to form a company under the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2003.

Now the company aims at roping in 200 shareholders (farmers) by March end.

Elaborating on the membership, Dutt says: “All organic farmers will be members of this company with an annual membership fee and right to participate in its management. It will encourage direct sale to consumer, retail chains and institutional sale as the primary methods of marketing. We will also undertake value addition by processing the farm produce.”

The company will also encourage dairy farming by boosting the propagation of Indian humped cow.

Besides this, the company would encourage study tours to institutions akin to theirs.

“Our aim is to build a farmer-based civil society movement for ecological agriculture, environmental conservation and economic sustainability of rural India. At least two lakh farming families have quit agriculture in Punjab alone in the recent years. We have evolved a two-pronged strategy to make farming profitable, one by freeing it from cash exodus by large-scale adoption of input-internalised natural farming. And two, by providing farmers a reliable option for marketing their natural farm produce.”

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Organic farmers in good company Farmers of Punjab, Rajasthan join hands to set up firm to sell produce directly to end users Harpreet Bajwa Posted online: Monday, December 03, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST Chandigarh, December 2 For the first time in North India, a group of farmers from Punjab and Rajasthan has decided to form a company to market their produce directly to the end users. Talking with The Indian Express, Umendra Dutt, Executive Director of the company christened Kudrati Kheti Producers Company Limited, said: “It is a new generation cooperative that will make provision for the education of its members besides promoting cooperation among the producer companies.’’ The company was conceived on November 11 when more than 50 organic farmers from Punjab and Rajasthan met up to discuss its contours under the benign eye of eminent agricultural marketing economist Dr Sukhpal Singh from Centre for Management in Agriculture, IIM, Ahmedabad. Dutt says Dr Singh introduced the concept of farmers company. “He impressed upon us the need for such a company to make farming profitable since there is no organisation at the village level to support farmers in their marketing initiatives. “ It was then that the farmers decided to form a company under the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2003. Now the company aims at roping in 200 shareholders (farmers) by March end. Elaborating on the membership, Dutt says: “All organic farmers will be members of this company with an annual membership fee and right to participate in its management. It will encourage direct sale to consumer, retail chains and institutional sale as the primary methods of marketing. We will also undertake value addition by processing the farm produce.” The company will also encourage dairy farming by boosting the propagation of Indian humped cow. Besides this, the company would encourage study tours to institutions akin to theirs. “Our aim is to build a farmer-based civil society movement for ecological agriculture, environmental conservation and economic sustainability of rural India. At least two lakh farming families have quit agriculture in Punjab alone in the recent years. We have evolved a two-pronged strategy to make farming profitable, one by freeing it from cash exodus by large-scale adoption of input-internalised natural farming. And two, by providing farmers a reliable option for marketing their natural farm produce.”