The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has created an organisation development fund to comprehensively support producer organisations across the country. It has also set up a dedicated fund, Producers Organisation Development Fund, for the purpose.

According to R. Shankar Narayan, Assistant General Manager, Nabard, Madurai, the Bank organised recently a workshop on producer organisations for prospective channel partners in order to give them basic inputs on the emerging concept. S.Natarajan, Deputy General Manager, Nabard, Watershed PMU, Madurai, while inaugurating the programme said that the concept will empower farmers and give them the crucial hold on pricing decisions. Professional functioning will be a key factor when the organisations are assessed for support by Nabard. The fund will have flexible interest rates and give support for capacity building.

Shankar Narayan further said that only value-added farming held the key to growth and farmers have to not only adopt latest technology but should have also access to all the resources and should collectively source inputs, own farm equipment and rent them to fellow farmers. He said they should sell their produce collectively so that they commanded the best price. All this requires are unity and mobilisation in the shape of producer organisations. Information about the organisations has been extended to various entities such as Banana Ripening Chambers for the banana growers of Varadarajapuram, Tiruchi, Coffee growers in Dindigul and Drip Irrigation in Tirunelveli Cotton ginning in Ramanathapuram. The participants were guided on the nuances of the formation of organisations and the essential elements that are needed to be taken care of. The programme was attended mainly by NGOs who are implementing watershed projects in partnership with Nabard in southern districts of Tamil Nadu, he added.

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