98
S
tate
of
I
ndia
’
s
L
ivelihoods
R
eport
2015
interest. Shresta and 24Mantra who market
organic produce are keen to provide staff
support to ensure production that can be
certified as organic.
POPIs mention that marketing tie-up
with companies have generally not been
very encouraging.
1. Knowledge of NGOs in marketing is
negligible and through trial and error
they are developing their skills to deal
with corporates. POPIs mention that the
biggest challenge is finding professional
staff who can negotiate with corporates.
2. Companies have reliable tie-ups with
large traders who assure year round
supply of commodities and goods of the
required quantity and quality; PCs, in
their initial days, are unable to offer this.
Corporates will only deal with PCs if they
offer better quality at cheaper price.
3. Companies do not offer right value to the
producers.While procuring directly from
the PCs, they offer the same or even lower
price thanwhat farmers get frommarkets
even though the company may be saving
on procurement costs. Anumber of cases
were citedwhere corporates initially con-
tracted a certain price but later lowered
the rates to match
mandi
rates. FPOs
needs to network, have storage systems
and develop more capacity to supply
larger volumes for major part of the year.
4. Producers expect premium price at
doorstep marketing. Boards of some
FPCs were expecting 25 per cent to 30
per cent premium to market rate and
expected the POPIs to negotiate on their
behalf. POPIs find that the producers are
usually not aware of the quality of their
produce; while their produce is C grade
they presume it to be A grade and expect
high premiums. Education on quality
parameters should precede any corporate
tie-ups.
5. Some POPIs mention that many times
farmers also play truant. For centuries
farmers have been cheated while mar-
keting their produce. Expecting to be
treated in an unfair manner, they don’t
play fair as well. Adulteration, mixing
poor quality with good quality goods,
delayed delivery and last minute pull
out from contractual obligations to
supply are some problems expected
from the farmers. Such unfair practices
do not go well with companies and they
withdraw from the scene after a bad
experience.
6. POPIs who have promoted corporate
tie-ups with PCs with vegetables grow-
ing farmers mention that the experience
has not been found remunerative by
the farmers. Corporates follow strict
norms in grading but offer only market
prices. In peak seasons, the staff have to
physically exert to sort out vegetables,
working for 18 hours a day. While staff
reject about 10 per cent to 15 per cent
at their level, corporates like Reliance,
Heritage etc., carry out another round of
grading at their level and reject another
10 per cent to 15 per cent. Overall rejec-
tion can be as high as 30 per cent and
these corporates only pay market price.
Farmers find it difficult to market the
rejected vegetables which are perishable
in nature. Some of the PCs are evaluat-
ing whether they should go for local
marketing rather than corporate tie-ups.
Corporates should prefer direct procurement
from FPCs over traditional supply chains
knowing fully well the exploitative nature of
traditional supply chain. Corporates should
make some efforts to manage the value chain.
Agents are in main mandi; we are requesting
that corporates should send the agent to FPC
to determine quality and procure offering
market price at farm gate. We are not asking
for premium price. We are willing to bear the
transportation cost till
mandi
. It appears to
us that some of the corporates do not want
transparent procurement. In front of govern-
ment officials they promise but don’t follow.
We are disappointed with corporates; they
should behave more responsibly.
Source:
POPI.
