Farmers Allege Corruption in FPO Model, Urge APMC-Based Procurement
Onion farmers have urged the state government to buy their produce directly through Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) instead of using Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), alleging corruption in the current system.
They have also called for the Central Government’s intervention to stop further malpractices and to revise its onion procurement guidelines to give priority to APMC-based purchases.
At present, central agencies like the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) buy onions through registered FPOs.
“Buying onions through FPOs has led to large-scale corruption at the local level. Many genuine farmers are not getting fair prices. The system is helping middlemen more than the actual growers,” farmers’ organisations said in a statement to the Maharashtra government.
They claimed that the FPO-based model has failed to achieve its goal and is instead hurting real farmers by denying them fair prices. Also Read | Kisan Mazdoor Commission proposes an FPO-style cooperative approach to share resources
According to them, buying onions directly through APMCs would bring more transparency, increase competition, ensure better market prices, and help farmers earn more for their produce.
“The FPO model has not worked as intended. It has resulted in manipulation and the exclusion of real farmers. We urge the Union government to act immediately, stop these malpractices, and update the guidelines to favour APMC-based procurement,” the farmer groups added.
Sources said the Maharashtra government has also formally asked the Centre to allow direct onion purchases through APMCs instead of going through FPOs.
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are legal entities formed by groups of farmers, such as companies or cooperatives, to work together and address their farming needs collectively.
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