THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Periyar Valley Spices Farmers Producer Company, formed by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), will be formally inaugurated on Monday. Primarily, the focus of the company will be on the farmers cultivating nutmegs. The company will also open the Agro Input Shop and Custom Hiring Centres in Ernakulam district to benefit the farmers.
The aim of the KVK is to ensure better revenue for farmers by avoiding middlemen. “The agro input shop will sell machinery and fertilisers directly to the farmers, eliminating the role of middlemen. In order to assist the farmers, custom hiring centres also will be launched,” said KVK senior scientist Shinoj Subramannian.
The Periyar Valley Spices Farmers Producers Company will issue the shares of the company to farmers with a face value of `1,000. The shops have started functioning and around ten people have been trained to use the machinery so they can assist the needs of the farmers, he added.
Around 130 farmers have registered in the Pokkali Farmer Producer Company inaugurated last week. Within two months, the products manufactured by the company will hit the markets.
“The initial stages of setting up the company have been completed and within two months we will launch the sale of around 10 products, including different varieties of Pokkali rice and its by-products. The organic variety of the rice will have takers once it hits the market,” said Arun Jose, chief executive officer, Pokkali Farmer Producer Company Ltd.
The farm produce is also purchased by middlemen who gulp the profit, denying the farmers their fruits of labour. The Farmer Producers Companies can purchase farm implements and inputs directly and distribute them among the farmers, said Shinoj. Under the Pokkali Farmer Producer Company, KVK will set up a ‘fish feed distribution unit’ to help the farmers in sourcing the feed for the Pokkali culture, he added.
The Union Government has launched an ambitious plan to form 2,000 farmer producer companies across the country and the KVK will handhold the company for three years.