Farmer Producer Company: A Model for Boosting Kerala’s Rural Economy

Abstract

Farmers own and run Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs), a rapidly growing companies in India that was established under the section 465(1) of the Companies Act, 2013. Agriculture continues to be the backbone of the Indian economy, employing 42% of the labour force and contributing 20% of the country’s GDP. 86.6% of India’s small and marginal farmers depend on farming as their main source of income. Small and marginal farmers, in particular, play a significant role as shareholders in FPCs, which bring people together from all walks of life to learn more about the issue’s existence at the local level and help solve it. The FPC is the best institutional structure for addressing a range of agricultural issues, including marketing, financing (forward linkages), input, technology (backward linkages), compact technology for small lands, proper marketing linkage, capacity building, training program on value-added products, financial inclusion program, village storage facilities, timely crop insurance, agriculture extension services, and the benefits of informatics. In order to increase income and subsequently promote more equitable growth, the study investigates how FPC addresses local food and nutrition security, the development of climate-resilient agriculture systems, input shortages, unemployment, and the integration of small and marginal farmers into agricultural markets.