BUSINESS PLAN – KARANJIA FARMERS PRODUCER COMPANY

Regd. No : U01403OR2015PTC019407

Karanjia block of Mayurbhanj district comprises 12 GPs categorized under scheduled area of the
district. There are a total of 32234 residential houses under 223 villages. It has total population of
1,23,740, out of which Adivasi (Bathudi, Santal, Ho and Saunti) population is 98975 (79.98%) and
Scheduled Caste population is 24586. Over 83% of the families in the block are below poverty line.

SAMBANDH’s present intervention is in 37 villages especially on livelihood through Horticulture

Development program, Arogya Plus at the block level to increase the institutional delivery and
reducing IMR and MMR, support for livelihood initiatives through Goatary programs at various
villages in Karanjia. The cluster has been identified in WADI villages of Karanjia block where the
production of mango and cashew has already started since last year. The formation of producer
groups, also known as farmer producer organizations and producer companies has emerged as an
innovative solution that can overcome the challenges faced by small and marginal farmers throughout
the value chain in WADI areas. SAMBANDH recommends that strategic philanthropy considers
supporting the formation and scaling up of producer companies to create catalytic and sustainable,
farmer-led change. Number of interventions can be delivered through a producer company that not
only overcome challenges faced by farmers and organizations but do so at scale, building financial
and operational sustainability from the start. We work closely with the farmers for:
 STRENGTHEN VALUE CHAINS: We work closely with smallholder farmers to enable them to
grow high-value products, engage with private-sector companies and sell in profitable markets.
 FOSTER ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN POOR COMMUNITIES: We provide business training and
skills development support to women and men who want to create thriving, sustainable
enterprises.
 SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Our market-led approach
increases incomes for target groups, while also catalyzing economic and social development for
the whole community.
 PROMOTE GENDER-INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES: We integrate a gender lens throughout our
programs and provide tailored support for women to expand their opportunities for sustainable
livelihoods.
 Access forward linkages with regard to technology
 Enhancing productivity
 Value addition of feasible products and market tie up.
Farmers will be organized in small neighbourhood informal groups which would be supported under
the programme to form associations/organizations relevant to their context including confederating
them into FPOs for improved input and output market access and negotiating power. The primary
objective of mobilising farmers into member-owned producer organisations, or FPOs, is to enhance
production, productivity and profitability. The participant farmers’ capacities will be strengthened and
they will be facilitated to access forward linkages with regard to technology for enhanced productivity,
value addition of feasible products and market tie-ups. Farmers will be organised into small
neighbourhood informal groups which would be supported under the programme to form
associations/organisations relevant to their context including confederating them into FPOs for
improved input and output market access as well as negotiating power. The vision and mission
towards the formation of Farmer’s Producer Organization are as follows:
VISION of FPO:
Building a prosperous and sustainable agriculture sector by promoting and supporting member-
owned producer Organisations, which will enable farmers to enhance productivity through efficient,
cost-effective and sustainable resource use and realize higher returns for their produce, through
collective action supported by the government, and fruitful collaboration with academia, research
agencies, civil society and the private sector.
MISSION of FPO:
 To promote economically viable, democratic, and self governing Farmer Producer Organisations
(FPOs)
 To provide support for the promotion of such FPOs by qualified and experienced Resource
Institutions
 To provide the required assistance and resources – policy action, inputs, technical knowledge,
financial resources, and infrastructure – to strengthen these FPOs.
 To remove hurdles in enabling farmers’ access the markets through their FPOs, both as buyers
and sellers.
 To create an enabling policy environment for investments in FPOs to leverage their collective
production and marketing power.

Development Process of FPO:  FPO will be formed by the aggregation of the FIGs (UVS, FC and
JLG). All 105 No of FIGs will come together to form a FPO. FPO will be registered under the
Producer Company provision under the Companies Act. However, it must be clarified that the
purpose of mobilising farmers is not merely to achieve the target of registering a formal entity. The
final form which the FPO assumes (i.e. cooperative, producer company, multi- state cooperative etc.)
must be a decision taken by FIG members at an appropriate time. It is important to stress that the
process must not be hurried in any manner and there is no “right time” by which the FPO must be
registered. Any period between 18 months to 24 months may be necessary for the FIGs to settle
down and understand the implications of aggregation. Only then should the FPO registration be
attempted. The various steps of formation of FPO at Karanjia are:
 Aggregation of all UVSs, FCs and JLGs
 Selection of General Body of FPOs
 Selection of Board of Directors from General Body
 Apply for PAN & DIN of Board of Directors and PAN for General Body Members
 Preparation of companies legal documentation of Farmers’ Producer Organization
 Registering at ROR

Appointment of CEO
SAMBANDH will facilitate the development of management systems in the FPO. Guidelines for
management systems would be able to address all requirements related to financial services, input
and output management services. Systems related to management of finance, human resources,
stock and inventory, procurement and quality management, marketing, internal audit, internal conflict
resolution and other important functional areas will be developed. Standard operating procedures for
the same will be established. Before initiating the operations of a FPO all required resources will be
mobilised with the help of FPO representatives and board of directors. Financial, human (staff),
technical and physical resources should be developed during this particular step.

The CEO will be appointed as per the decision of the Board of Directors and the Facilitating Agency /
Resource Agencies’ approval. The CEO should be having great mobilizing capabilities as well as
good business skills initially.

Board meeting, Board of Directors, Management committee meeting and Governance related
issues
The No of Board Members those will be associated with the FPO would be in between 7 to 10. The
Board will Meet Twice a Year or as required during the business operations. The Board will be sole
responsible along with the CEO for the Management, Operation and Governance of the FPO as well
as to resolute any issues.
The General Body will be initially having 50 Members, maximum, and after the formation of FPO
during subsequent times other members through various FIGs will be incorporated into the FPO. The
Board will meet once a year.

Development of Business Plan and Diagnostic Study of the Produces:  The diagnostic study
for the feasibility analysis of the identified clusters was done by us. The specific objectives of the
study are as follows:
 To assess the existing infrastructure and policy support from the State / Central Government /
other Financial Institutions for post-harvest management and marketing of the local produces.
 To study the existing practices for procurement, pricing and payments to the horticulture farmers
on their produce and problems thereof.
 To study the institutional arrangements and economic linkages across the area of study
 To study the existing agro-processing network in terms of constraints related to capacity,
productivity and overall viability
 To suggest policy measures to overcome the constraints in the present system and identify areas
for more in-depth study in future.
The economy of the studied cluster of Karanjia Block is predominantly agriculture comprising
agriculture and horticultural crops. The rural marketing is largely unorganized in the region and
dominated by the private traders. The identified and studies clusters have observed high production
of fruits (Mango & Cashew, Citrus), Vegetables (Tomato, Cabbage, Pumpkin), NTFP (Mahua Flower
& Fruit, Sal Leaves, Tamarind, Char Seeds) and Animal by products (Meat Goat), but could not fetch
market price to the farmers at par with the markets in the other areas of the state or neighbouring
states. Besides, the infrastructure, procurement practices, marketing approaches and processing
facilities are also observed as the major constraints in the rural marketing in the studied region. It is
hence, necessary to provide improved marketing environment and value added economic benefits to
the farmers through better management of various post-harvest functions of the horticultural crops.

The pilot has already shown encouraging results and more than 2500 farmers across the 16 G.P.s of
Karanjia block are presently mobilised into village-level Farmer Interest Groups (Udyan Vikas
Samitties – UVSs, Farmers Clubs – FCs and Joint Livelihood Groups - JLGs), which are being
federated into registered FPOs. Besides empowering farmers through collective action, these
grassroots bodies are emerging as nodal points for the transmission of cultivation technology, inputs
and credit and pooling their production to leverage the market for better prices.

From the diagnostic study it was cleared that the business of following entities can be possible by the
Farmers’ Producer Organization (FPO) in Karanjia Block.
 Collectivisation and selling of Mango, Cashew
 Collectivisation and selling of Vegetables (Tomato, Cabbage, Pumpkin)
 Collectivisation, primary processing and selling of Non-Timber Forest Produces (NTFP) (Mahua
Flower, Mahua Fruit – Tolo, Sal leaves – Sal Leaf Plate, Tamarind – Seedless, Char Seeds)
 Selling of unprocessed Meat Goat initially

The following table illustrates the production and marketing locally of various farm and non-farm
produces over the past years.
Production of Farm Produces over the years 
(Unit in ‘000 Kg)
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
M C C P M S T T G M C C P M S T T G M C C P M S T T G
b a L o b a L o b a L o
0 0 0. 1. 1. 2. 2. 0. 1. O 0 0. 2. 1. 2. 2. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0. 3. 2. 3. 2. 1. 3.
5 5 0 0 0 5 5 5 0 7 5 5 5 5 2 2 6 5 5 5 0 0 0
(N.B. – As per our own sample survey over the years. List of abbreviations: M-Mango, C-
Cashew, Cb-Cabbage, P-Pumpkin, Ma-Mahua, SL-Sal Leaf Plate, To-Tomato, G-Meat Goat)

SELLING PRICE AS OBSERVED DURING 2014-15

Selling Price
Details of Farm / Non-farm Standard Price
(Local)
Produce (Rs. / Kg)
(Rs. / Kg)
Mango (Amrapalli) 15 - 20 40
Cashew (Raw-unprocessed) 50 – 55 70
Cabbage 7 – 10 15
Pumpkin 5–7 10
Mahua 7 – 10 20
Sal Leaf Plate (Sold in Thousands) 20 – 30 50
Tamarind 4–5 12
Tomato 4 -5 10
Meat Goat (Adult Live) 3000 – 3500 4000

BUSINESS PLANNING – Business Planning is in progress which is being carried out with the help of
selected farmers’ representatives. Business planning is a process through which the strategic and
operational orientation of an emerging FPO will be shaped. While baseline assessment figures are
important inputs to understand the level from which products and services for farmers’ members
should be developed, more important will be the collective visualisation of the future of the FPO.
Using a variety of tools and systematic collective reflections, a business plan with proper projections
on various aspects needs to be developed. The key is to develop business plans in detail with at least
10% of FPO farmer members to provide clear vision. This is a continuous process and it will have a
definite shape after the establishment of respective FPO. The following Business Plan Model of
Healing Heritage Producer Company has been followed during the consultation meeting with eminent
farmers representatives.

This Model has been established based on our business plan model plan model for Healing Heritage
Producer Company, based at Choudwar of Cuttack district of Odisha which in the past years has
grown to many folds and is now quite sustainable. It is a Producer Company of the Traditional
Healers doing manufacturing of Ayurvedic Products. The business model of HHPC is as follows.

Resource Mobilization:  Before initiating the operations of a FPO all required resources will be
mobilised with the help of FPO representatives and board of directors. Based on the business plan
the Resource Agency / Facilitating Agency will liaise with various financing agencies and mobilise
resources for hiring/purchasing and developing various resources. Then the FPO will do the
commencement of procurement, production, and processing, marketing and financial services.
Resource Agency will carefully train both the governing and operational structures of the FPO in order
to ensure smooth functioning of business operations. The entire value-chain related to various
agriculture and allied products and commodities needs to be developed and managed.

Business Development including marketing strategy / linkage Establishment:  The FPO will
offer a variety of services to its members as illustrated in the table. It can be noted that it is providing
almost end-to-end services to its members, covering almost all aspects of cultivation (from inputs,
technical services to processing and marketing). The FPO will facilitate linkages between farmers,
processors, traders, and retailers to coordinate supply and demand and to access key business
development services such as market information, input supplies, and transport services. Based on
the emerging needs, the FPO will keep on adding new services from time to time.

Growth Projection of FPO for the year 2015-16: à

Amount in
Rs.
Net Sales from Horticulture Produces 4,50,000
Net Sales from Agriculture Produces 3,50,000
Net Sales from Raw NTFP 2,50,000
Net Sales from Value Addition of Agri-Horti-NTFP 1,00,000
Share Capital 25,000
Operational Expenses (HR) 2,40,000
Operational Expenses (Procurement, Handling, Processing, Post Processing,
4,50,000
Packaging, cost of Labour etc.)
Auditing & Taxation Expenses 70,000
Returns on Share Capital 2,500
Misc. Expenses 50,000
Gross Income for 2015-16 4,62,500

Growth Projection of FPO for the coming 3 years: à

Base Year – 2016-17 2017-18
2015-16
Share Capital 25000 25000 25000
Borrowings 3,00,000 2,50,000 2,00,000
Net Sales 11,75,000 14,50,000 15,50,000
Machineries -- 2,50,000 2,50,000
Operational Expenses 5,90,000 7,00,000 6,70,000
Other Expenses 1,22,500 2,30,000 2,20,000
Profitability 4,62,500 3,80,000 3,20,000