BHUBANESWAR: Sabuja Sanatanpali Farmer Producer Company Limited (SSFPCL), Odisha’s first floriculture-based Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO), has entered into a collaboration with Lucknow-based National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), a unit of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for promoting scientific research in floriculture, enhancing crop diversity and applying biotechnological approaches for plant improvement, with a focus on economic viability.
This is for the first time an FPO in Odisha has incorporated institutional applied research into its operational model to adapt to climate change and boost flower production and marketing, ultimately empowering farmers economically. Senior principal scientist at NBRI Chandra Sekhar Mohanty said technical and scientific support will be provided to farmers through this initiative with a focus on production of value-added products. It will promote crop diversity and enhance income, he said.
With around 6,500 hectares of land dedicated to floriculture, Odisha produces 24,800 tonne of loose flowers and about 5,500 lakh cut flowers annually. However, this production meets only 10 per cent of the state’s demand, forcing dependence on major cities like Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad for flower supplies.
Established in 2021 with Palladium as technical support unit and supported by Nabard, SSFPCL is located in the Jujumura forest area of Sambalpur district. It is the first FPO in the state that focuses on floriculture, making strides in addressing flower scarcity.
SSFPCL boasts over 1,200 small and marginal farmer members, with nearly 50 per cent being women, overall benefitting 3,500 farmers. Besides floriculture, SSFPCL sells a diverse range of agricultural products, including mangoes and vegetables such as cabbage, chilli, cauliflower, and okra, produced by smallholder farmers.