Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

Topic: 10,000 Honey Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)

Why in News?

• The Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare recently inaugurated the Honey FPO Programme of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED).

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED)

• NAFED has been appointed as the 4th National Implementing Agency other than SFAC, NABARD and NCDC for the creation of 10,000 FPOs by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW).
• NAFED has recently taken over the national level Federation of Indian FPOs and Aggregators (FIFA) with the aim of creating sustainable small holder institutions to enhance collective capacities, shortening of agri produce value chains for equitable returns to all stakeholders and leveraging technology for enhanced transparency, scale and seamless agri. produce trading.
• Creation of Honey FPOs is one of the thrust areas of FIFA’s business plan.
• NAFED, through its empanelled Cluster Based Business Organisation (CBBO) Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) has initiated the formation and promotion of FPOs of beekeepers and honey collectors in 5 States of India.

• The areas covered under the programme are Sundarbans in West Bengal, East Champaran in Bihar, Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Morena in Madhya Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

Beekeeping in India

• Beekeeping in India is highly predominant in the unorganized sector among the rural and tribal population.
• Despite having a huge potential of honey production in the country, the beekeeping industry is still underdeveloped.
• The adoption level of beekeeping is also quite less due to various constraints.

Government’s Role

• Government of India is promoting the creation of FPOs in view of their significant role in fulfilling the mission of implementing agricultural reforms in the country.
• Promotion & Formation of FPOs is the first step for converting Krishi into Atmanirbhar Krishi. For this purpose new Central Sector Scheme for Formation & Promotion of new 10,000 FPOs was launched.
• FPOs will be developed by specialist 'Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs)’ engaged by Implementing Agencies.

Observations by Ministry of Finance

• “there is a growing cautious optimism that the steep plunges of April-June quarter may not resurface with significant progress in vaccines and contact intensive sectors increasingly adapting to a virtual normal,” the ministry said in a monthly economic report.
• Agriculture, which has grown consistently at 3.4% through the first half of 2020-21, is expected to remain the economy’s bright spot with rabi crop sowing showing a healthy rise by the end of November. By November 27, overall rabi crop acreage was 4.02% higher, with the area under pulses increasing 43.3%, the ministry pointed out.
• Distress in the rural labour force seems to have worsened. “The demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGS) has surged, with a y-o-y growth of 47.2% in November. Till November, 266.67 crore person days have been created under the scheme — a jump of 51.3% as compared to previous year.
• V-shaped recovery, evident at the half-way stage of 2020-21, reflects the resilience and robustness of the Indian economy. The fundamentals of the economy remain strong as gradual scaling back of lockdowns, along with the astute support of Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission has placed the economy firmly on the path of recovery.