Promotion of FPO for Sustainable Development of Small and Marginal Farmers Involved in Production of Organic Turmeric in Kandhamal District of Odisha: A Case Study of Spice Development Society, ‘KASAM’

This paper has undertaken a case study of spice development society named Kandhamal Apex Spices Association for Marketing (KASAM) to assess the importance and role of the FPO for the sustainable development of the organic turmeric farmers of the district Kandhamal of Odisha. For study, 82 organic turmeric farmers were selected randomly through interviews. The study on perception of farmers on promotion of EPO revealed that the majority (68.3%) of farmers were highly satisfied and only a small proportion (8.5%) was not satisfied on this aspect. The paper has reported that there are 694 FPOs (410 registered and 284 under registration process) in the country, the highest number FPOs is in Madhya Pradesh (144), followed by Maharashtra (92), Karnataka (82) and West Bengal (67). The perception of farmers regarding different activities of FPOs revealed that activities like training, advisory services, financial services, input-supply services, marketing services, storage services, and certification services was highly positive. The study has suggested that government should encourage formation of FPOs to enhance farmers’ income in multiple ways.