Centre looks to set-up own company to promote select rural products

Talks are on with Tata Trusts and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide professional support

The government is planning to set up a Section 8 company to identify 20-30 farm and non-farm products from villages, and develop end-to-end solutions for them. This could include identifying market linkages, export destinations, and creating value chains.

A Section 8 company is registered under this section of the Companies Act, 2013, to promote commerce, art, etc.

Officials aware of the development said under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), the government is empowered to start such a company or a farmers-producer organisation (FPO) to support rural livelihood. In the 1990s, the government had set up a Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium, which was a society and not a company.

“This company would be an FPO and will be supported by professionals from various fields,” a senior official said. The proposed FPO could become operational in the next four-five months.

It would be on the lines of the National Dairy Development Board, but outside the ambit of cooperatives.

A memorandum of understanding has already been signed with Tata Trusts and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for training and professional support, another official said.

The government plans to expand the FPO’s operations into an integrated call centre to link prospective farmers with consumers and rural artisans with buyers, located in the country and even abroad.

Planned on the lines of the Meghalaya government’s 1917 toll-free number, the project could be a national helpline to directly link rural producers with consumers.

Meghalaya’s call centre initiative has been a great success. According to some reports, since December 2017, 15,000 farmers have directly benefitted from the project. The farmers get connected to a pool of over 150 buyers, start-ups, retailers, and bulk buyers through the platform.

The mobile platform not only facilitates direct interface between buyers and sellers, but also acts as an enabler and facilitator in the entire gamut of agriculture extension services, including transportation, veterinary services, and raw material supplies.

“If the same model is replicated on a national level, it could be a game changer for millions or rural artisans, farmers, and livestock rearers, who are not able to sustain their livelihood for want of proper prices for their products,” the official said.

He added the proposed Section 8 company would ideally want to tie-up with women-led self-help groups and provide them a platform to market their products, along with developing a full-fledged value chain for the items produced by them through highest quality of professional help.

 

About Section 8

 

•  A company licensed under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, is for promoting research, social welfare, religion, charity, commerce, art, science, sports, education, and the protection of the environment
•  Profits or other income of such a company is deployed for promoting only the objects of the company 
•  No dividend is paid by such a company
•  A Section 8 company is registered under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, while a trust or society is registered under a state government