BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded the efforts of farmers under the Agrahichasi Producer Company a farmer producer organisation (FPO) in Kalahandi, who have transformed eight gram panchayats (GPs) into a vegetable hub in a region historically known for unemployment and seasonal migration.
The New Indian Express featured the FPO in its Brightside section on December 1. In his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, Modi highlighted how the FPO is scripting a new success story despite the region's scarcity of water and resources.
The initiative was started by 51-year-old Krushna Nag in Sanchergaon village under the Golamunda block. With the help of a few entrepreneurial vegetable growers, the FPO was registered in 2022 with just 10 members from eight GPs.
At its inception, the company’s total share capital was a modest Rs 1.78 lakh.
“This is the ‘vegetable revolution’ of Kalahandi. Once, farmers here were forced to migrate. Today, the Golamunda block of Kalahandi has become a vegetable hub. How did this transformation happen? It began with a small group of just 10 farmers. This group established an FPO, adopted modern farming technologies, and today their FPO is conducting business worth crores. Over 200 farmers are now associated with this FPO, including 45 women farmers,” the prime minister said.
Collectively, the farmers are cultivating tomatoes over 200 acres and bitter gourd over 150 acres. The annual turnover of the FPO has now risen to more than Rs 1.5 crore, he added. “Today, vegetables from Kalahandi are being supplied not only to various districts of Odisha but also to other states. The farmers are also learning new techniques for cultivating potatoes and onions,” the prime minister noted.
Urging people to support FPOs in their regions, Modi said the Kalahandi model demonstrates that transformation is achievable through determination and collective effort.
“Remember, big changes are possible even with small beginnings. All we need is determination and team spirit,” he emphasised.