FPOs empower, provide financial stability to women in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, May 11 (PTI) Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have transformed lives and provided financial stability to women in rural areas of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar who once earned meagre wages as farm labourers.

Women of Karmad, who until a few years ago received Rs 200-300 in daily wages after toiling away in farms, now earn up to Rs 2,000 per day working at drying and processing units under FPOs.

Besides empowering women in the area, FPOs have also cut losses incurred by farmers when excess produce flooded the markets, forcing them to destroy some of it.

Drying units for onions and corn have come up in the Karmad area, around 30 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, in the last couple of years, and they are part of a supply chain for hotels and food processing companies.

Talking to PTI, Padmaja Vedpathak, who works with three other women in her corn processing unit, said, "We work seven days a week and earn around Rs 2,000 a day by processing three tonnes of corn daily. I used to earn Rs 300 a day working on someone else's farm. This has changed my family life." Prabhavati Padul, a member of an FPO that supports the corn processing unit, said the organisation was established in 2020.

They purchase excess corn from the market and process it, and it is then used in poultry feed, oil and other food items.

"We procure corn for Rs 18 per kg and sell the processed produce for Rs 25-26 with a profit of around Rs 7 per kg," she said.

A solar-based onion drying unit is run by women in the nearby Hiwra village.

Rekha Pophale, who works in the unit, said, "I just sort and segregate onions here and earn Rs 500 per day. I have money now and can keep my family happy. My grandchildren study in an English-medium school in Karmad. We are also able to save money, repay debts and even purchase gold." Talking to PTI, Suresh Patwekar, district development manager of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), said the bank helped set up FPOs for women in the district, and nearly 1,500 women are connected to them.

"They process tomato, onion, ginger and corn. Earlier, whenever farmers produced these crops in excess, they did not get good returns. The excess produce is now procured through FPOs and processed, and farmers earn well." He said Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has three FPOs, and nearly 1,500 women are connected to them and operate more than 1,000 vegetable dehydration units.

"We help them with capacity building, funding, technological support and market availability," Patwekar said.

Kailash Rathod, sustainable development head, facilitating the project through Mahatma Phule Ekatmik Samaj Mandal, said, "We first worked on water conservation projects in the area. We then went a step ahead to enhance farmers' income. At least 32 FPOs were formed across Maharashtra, and we have brought nearly 10,000 farmers in this." The overall turnover in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar through these three FPOs has reached Rs 74 crore this year compared to Rs 7 to 8 crore in 2020. PTI AW ARU