Performance evaluation of farmer producer organisations in Uttarakhand

Abstract:

Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have emerged as a key institutional mechanism for aggregating smallholder production, strengthening market access, and improving farm incomes in India. Despite rapid numerical growth in FPO registrations over the last decade, systematic evidence on their functional performance remains geographically skewed, with the hill states of the Himalayan region receiving limited research attention. This study evaluated the performance of FPOs operating in four purposively selected districts of Uttarakhand, Tehri Garhwal and Dehradun (Garhwal division) and Almora and Pithoragarh (Kumaon division), using the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Performance Grading Tool. A descriptive research design combining primary and secondary data was adopted, and thirteen FPOs (20 per cent of the 65 FPOs functioning in the selected districts) were assessed across fifteen weighted parameters covering structural, managerial, financial, and operational dimensions. Total grading scores ranged from 66 to 90 out of 100, and a Composite Performance Index, computed by normalising each FPO's score against the maximum attainable score, ranged from 0.66 to 0.90. Eleven of the thirteen FPOs were graded 'A' (ready for credit linkage) and two were graded 'B' (requiring limited capacity building before credit linkage). Governance, share capital mobilisation, member participation in services, and MIS/compliance were uniformly strong across FPOs, whereas financial assistance uptake, annual turnover, and convergence with government schemes showed marked variation and emerged as the principal constraints on overall performance. The findings suggest that while FPOs in the sampled hill districts have achieved a sound institutional and governance base, targeted interventions in financial inclusion, market linkage diversification, and inter-agency convergence are necessary to move moderately performing FPOs toward higher grades. The study offers empirical evidence to guide region-specific policy support for FPO strengthening in hill and mountain agro-ecosystems.