Two-Day State-Level FPO Training Program Concludes in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Empowerment (DAFE), Government of Odisha, in collaboration with The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS), successfully conducted a three-batch, two-day state-level training program for Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) at the State Institute of Training and Extension (SITE), Bhubaneswar.

The program, which ran from December 12 to December 23, 2024, saw participation from more than 120 individuals across 30 districts, with 40% of the participants being women. This initiative aimed to address challenges faced by FPOs such as short life cycles, misaligned incentives, and structural inefficiencies.

Experts including Dr. Devesh Roy, Dr. Mamata Pradhan, Sunil Saroj, Amit Burman, Devendra Kumar, and Vandana Vidhani from IFPRI facilitated the training. The sessions covered key areas such as organizational design, value chains, marketing channels, branding, certification, and financial management.

Dr. Devesh Roy emphasized that FPOs in Odisha should adopt entrepreneurial approaches akin to ASEAN countries, focusing on strategic assignment of activities based on skillsets and maintaining optimal sizes for sustainability.