Karnataka farmers highlight issues in federation of farmer-producer organisations

Bengaluru: The recent formation of a federation of farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) in the state has highlighted some pressing issues in the functioning of these bodies, according to some farmers.

Several FPOs function today with shareholders and office bearers who are conducting private businesses— selling seeds, pesticides and fertilisers — dealing in the same commodities as FPOs, according to a complaint submitted to the registrar of cooperative societies. Such memberships present a direct conflict of interest with respect to the aims and objectives of establishing an FPO.

Furthermore, the memberships are in violation of the federation and cooperative society byelaws, says Chetan Dabke, president of the Bidar Horticulture Farmer Producer Company Limited.

“Producer organisations have been formed to protect farmers’ interests, improve access to seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. For this purpose, FPOs can obtain several working grants, credit facilities and schemes that are otherwise not available to individuals,” he says.

For this reason, several guardrails have been established to prevent the involvement of individuals who are indulging in private businesses that deal with agricultural input material. For instance, Section 29C of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act, 1959, and Section 32 of the Federation’s Byelaw expressly disallow membership of such individuals.

“The byelaws are very clear that a producer who has a conflict of interest would not be allowed to become a shareholder in an agricultural business. However, there is no body that is verifying if an individual is indulging in these practices,” explains N R Shetty, founder of the Sahaja Samrudha Organic producer company.

However, many people are unaware that rules that govern eligibility criteria even exist. “Most organisations do not know about the constitution or the byelaws and are simply lured by financial assistance or incentives,” he adds.

Furthermore, individuals with conflicts of interest have not only been allowed to become members of FPOs but, in some cases, are also office bearers.

“While there is no personal animosity towards these individuals, memberships in FPOs or the federation leave farmers vulnerable to exploitation,” says Ravi Siddammanavar, president of the Channa Vrushabendra FPCL in Belagavi.

“We will verify and dissolve shareholder membership in an FPO if there is a complaint lodged. We do not conduct independent checks,” says Jayaswamy G S, Joint Director at the Karnataka Watershed Development Department — an implementing agency for the formation and promotion of FPOs.

On March 12 this year, elections were held to elect 12 directors from various FPOs across Karnataka for the Karnataka State Farmers Producer Organisations Cooperative Society Ltd. The next crucial step, the election for office bearers, was scheduled on March 26.

The formation of the federation has been lauded by many as a step in the right direction. However, to maintain its sanctity, there is a need to monitor and audit FPOs to grow in the right direction, experts said.