AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

The size of operational holdings in India is continuously declining with every successive generation. The situation has raised serious question on the survivability of these small holders. Aggregation of the farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, into producer companies has emerged as one of the most effective means in the recent past to address many challenges of agriculture, more specifically, improved access to investments, technology and inputs and markets. Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Govt. of India has identified farmer producer companies registered under the special provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 (As amended in 2002) as the most appropriate institutional form of aggregation of farmers. A producer company is basically a corporate body registered as Producer Company under Companies Act, 1956 (now Companies Act, 2013) (As amended in 2002). Its main activities consists of production, harvesting, processing, procurement, grading, pooling, handling, marketing, selling, export of primary produce of the members or import of goods or services for their benefit. It also includes, promoting mutual assistance, welfare measures, financial services, insurance of producers or their primary produce. The main objective of mobilizing farmers into member-owned producer companies, or FPOs, is to enhance production, productivity and profitability of agriculturists, especially small farmers in the country.

Producer company needs to have at least five and not more than 15 directors. A full time chief executive is to be appointed by the board. He shall be an ex-officio director and will not be liable to retire by rotation and shall be entrusted with substantial powers of management as the board may determine. He shall operate the bank accounts with joint signatory of a member of board of director, make arrangements for safe custody of cash and other assets of the producer company. He may exercise the powers as may be necessary in the ordinary course of business. CEO of the company needs to perform several such functions. Hence,role of CEO is very crucial in maintaining and sustaining the Farmer Producer Companies. Against this backdrop, a-IDEA, NAARM is going to conduct a 50 days residential programme on Agribusiness Management Development Programme (ABMDP), a unique course for Prospective CEOs of FPOs with the support of NABARD, Telangana Regional office.