On January 7, 2026, CISSA convened a meeting at the Hospitality Centre, Trivandrum Club, to deliberate on strategies for strengthening Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). The session brought together experts, practitioners, and stakeholders to explore issues, challenges, and opportunities in making FPOs sustainable, marketâresponsive, and impactful.
The Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA) organized a meeting on ‘Transforming FPOs into Change Makers: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities’. Chaired by Dr. Sureshkumar C., General Secretary, CISSA, the discussion focused on identifying practical strategies to empower FPOs as business‑oriented institutions capable of driving rural transformation. Participants highlighted key challenges such as lack of sustainability, weak market linkages, and activities initiated without proper viability assessments.
Key Insights from Experts
Speakers underscored the importance of demand‑driven production, commodity‑focused collective farming, and strong procurement systems. Mr. Pramod Madhavan, Deputy Director, Agriculture Department, stressed the need for backward and forward market linkages, citing successful examples like Mayil FPC and Mananthavady TAPCO.
Mr. Sivakumar P.J., Former Director, KERAFED and VFPCK, along with other participants, emphasized price assurance mechanisms, storage infrastructure, and inter‑FPO networking to address production gaps and price instability. Dr. Santhosh Kumar, Director, Coconut Research Station, KAU, highlighted the role of quality planting material and planned cropping patterns, while Dr. A.G. Pandurangan pointed out productivity gaps between Kerala and other states, suggesting improvements through better agronomic practices.
Exploring Opportunities and Path Ahead
Discussions also touched on new enterprise opportunities such as commercial goat farming, biofertiliser production, mechanised farming, hydroponics, and protected cultivation. Entrepreneurs and hi‑tech farmers shared experiences, noting that marketing remains the major constraint rather than production.
Concerns around credit linkage, governance, and coordination with government schemes were raised, with calls for accountable management and demand‑driven approaches. The meeting concluded with consensus that sustainable FPO development requires strong market linkages, institutional reforms, and collective strategies. CISSA announced that an action plan based on the deliberations would be prepared and shared with FPOs, ensuring that the insights translate into actionable outcomes.
