HP women farmers all set to become change-makers in agro-marketing

shimla: Women have always been a game changer in rural India. When it comes to the hills, they can out-beat the men in every sphere from farming to fruit production.

Meet a group of women, approximately 60 hailing from Solan – one of the most pioneering districts in vegetable farming, especially off-seasonal vegetables.

For the first time in the state, women have registered an all-women Farmer Producer Company (FPC) for collective marketing of the certified chemical-free

natural produce recently. By all means, they have not

only switched over from first chemical based farming to the non-chemical but also have expertise in low cost and climate resilient natural farming technique. All this is because of the state government's umbrella project --- Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y).The women farmers have taken a significant step ahead to transform their identity from farmers to entrepreneurs.

The first all-women FPC comprises farmers from three Panchayats namely Jabal Jamrot, Haripur and Deothi in Solan district. To begin with, the Solan Natural Farmer Producer Company has ten primary shareholders (five women farmers on Board of Directors and five others as promoters) and 60 more women farmers are ready to be part of this FPC for marketing of natural produce.

So far, four FPCs in all (Chopal, Pachad and Karsog apart from one all women

FPC in Solan) have been registered in the state for marketing of natural produce, giving a push to enable Sustainable Food Systems Platform for

Natural Farming (SuSPNF)

in the interest of sustainable agriculture through natural farming technique in the hill state.

The SuSPNF is aimed at working out mutually beneficial producer-consumer

linkage with universities also set to play a significant role in value addition of the natural produce in collaboration with farmers.

State Project Director, PK3Y, Naresh Thakur said, "It is a step towards transformation of farmers to businessmen. It is a good development that women farmers are emerging as leaders whether it is about adopting natural farming techniques or forming FPC to market the chemical-free produce at best price," he said.

Chairman of the newly registered Solan Natural Farmer Producer Company, Radha Devi, 41, said, "A shift to natural farming technique was

the first important step to save our agriculture as chemical based farming had led to increasing expenditures and stagnant production."