Multi-asset agri finance company Kissandhan and a subsidiary of the SLCM Group, is eyeing 15% of Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO) business from West Bengal. As part of the strategy, the company has signed around four FPOs recently covering a small and marginal farmer base of more than 4000 in West Bengal and disbursed Rs 1 crore of loan to them.
With central government’s focus on increasing FPOs in India, they are coming up in a big way. Last year, the government had approved and launched the Central Sector Scheme of “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)” to setup and promote 10,000 new FPOs till 2027-28 with a total budgetary outlay of Rs.6865 Cr.
Kissandhan has started its FPO business in June 2021. Currently the company has more than 48 FPOs across the country through which it is able to impact the livelihoods of 47,000+ Small Holder Farmers. Kissandhan is targeting to tie-up with 100 FPOs which will further impact the livelihoods of 75000 to 1 lakh small holder farmers by the end of current financial year. Out of 100, the company is expecting 15 FPOs will be from West Bengal.
Kissandhan wishes to impact livelihoods of more than 15000 small and marginal farmers of West Bengal during FY22-23 by providing lending facility to the FPOs towards supply of inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides) to the farmers during sowing time. And also to make instant availability of the funds to the farmers during harvesting season.
The company has targeted Mednipur – East and Mednipur West in the first phase and will explore the opportunity in other cities of Bhardhaman, North and South Parganas in the second phase. Along with exploring the potential of FPOs in the State, the company is also strengthening its business team across West Bengal.
The company has disbursed more than Rs.2600 cr as on 31st Oct’22. The company is RBI regulated non-banking finance company (NBFC) and christened as “Kissandhan” based out at Delhi and having coverage in states like Maharashtra, MP, UP, Rajasthan, Orissa, WB, Bihar and Gujarat.
