Farmer Club

                                            

Definition : 

• Grassroot level informal forums of farmers


• Such Clubs are organized by rural branches of banks with the support and financial assistance of NABARD for the mutual benefit of the banks concerned and the village farming community/rural people.


• All Institutional Agencies (Commercial Banks, Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks) and all grassroot level organisations (NGOs, PRIs, State Agricultural Universities, KVKs, ATMA, Post Offices etc.) are eligible to form Farmers’ Clubs.

History :

• The Farmers’ Clubs programme which was earlier known as “Vikas Volunteer Vahini (VVV) Programme” was launched by NABARD in 1982.


• The programme was directed towards development in rural areas through credit, technology transfer, awareness and capacity building.


• The “VVV Programme” was renamed as “Farmers’ Club Programme” in 2005 by revisiting its earlier mission.

Need : 

• Around 60% of country’s population depends on agriculture which contributes 18% to India’s GDP. The Tenth Five Year Plan and National Agriculture Policy documents envisage a growth level of 4% in Agriculture. However the growth of the sector has not been satisfactory with less than 2% growth in the last 50 years.


• To meet the targeted growth it is imperative improve productivity and reduce costs by improving efficiency.


• The emerging needs in agriculture sector now are adoption of location specific skill and knowledge based technologies, promote greater value addition to agriculture produce, forge new partnerships between public institutions, technology users and the corporate sector, harness IT more effectively to realize financial sustainability and compete in the international market.

Functions : 

• Coordinate with banks to ensure credit flow among its members and forge better bank borrower relationship,


• Organise minimum one meeting per month


• Interface with subject matter specialists in the various fields of agriculture and allied activities etc


• Liaison with Corporate input suppliers to purchase bulk inputs on behalf of members.


• Market rural produce and products

Financial Aid from NABARD 

• NABARD’s policy support for Farmers’ Club Programme lays stress on linking technologies with farmers’ club members and also facilitating market access.


• NABARD also provides financial assistance of Rs.10,000/- per club per annum for a period of 3 years to all agencies irrespective of whether they are institutional or other agencies and also the region concerned.