Telangana minister calls for integrated agri policy
The two-day conclave themed around ‘Building a Resilient FPO Ecosystem’ was attended by 183 lighthouse FPOs from across the nation.
Representative image
HYDERABAD: “India needs integrated agriculture policy for the comprehensive development of the farmers and the nation,” said Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, minister of agriculture, Telangana, on Saturday.
Speaking at a two-day event organised by the Chennai-based Samunnati, he said “agriculture, if done with the right support for farmers has the potential to lead the nation into better employment, lesser poverty and overall global growth, while giving back to the end contributors (farmers) and FPOs are increasingly rising up to do the same for them.”
The minister said farming, the backbone of India, has to be converted into industry, which could be possible only by shedding the conventional approach. By emerging as an agri-industrial country, India could become the “caterers and feeders” for the whole world.
While covering key aspects like integrated farming, diversified crops, digital innovation, and market access, he raised his concerns on agriculture not getting its due and the orientation to this subject had to start from the school as it rightly deserves the “sacred profession” tag.
Samunnati completed 10 years during the first edition of ‘Lighthouse FPO conclave’ here on June 22 and 23, 2023. The two-day conclave themed around ‘Building a Resilient FPO Ecosystem’ was attended by 183 lighthouse FPOs from across the nation.
The first edition of the annual conclave designed on the birth anniversary of the organisation, was focused on exchanging ideas and discussing solutions related to scaling FPOs and making them commercially viable.
The event started with a welcome address by Anilkumar SG, founder-CEO, Samunnati, where he shared his experience of growing the organisation and in turn enable empowerment for its associated FPOs.
The event ‘for the FPOs, and by the FPOs’ aims to create recognition for those making a positive, sustainable, and long-lasting impact on farmers’ livelihoods. The conclave will give a platform to the chosen FPOs to narrate their stories of struggles, success and share their learnings with the rest of the FPO ecosystem at large, inspire them to become thriving commercial enterprises and to directly benefit the farmers of India.
‘State of Sector Report 2023 - Farmer Producer Organization in India’ published by NAFPO was also launched at the conclave by Anish Kumar, MD, Transforming Rural India Foundation, bringing reliable data to infer critical touchpoints for the FPOs and allow them to pave the way to data-analysed farming in India.