Producer organisations may include farmers’

• Self Help Groups
• Famers' Management Committees ( Pathor Parichalana Samities)/ Unions / associations
• Cooperatives
• Societies
• Chambers of agriculture
• Trusts
• Farmers’ market groups, etc.

The services provided to the members of Producer Organisations may include marketing assistance, technical services, saving and credit, representation and lobbying, local development, etc. Strengthening Producer Organisations can have a major spin-of in relation to sustainable rural development enhancing the performance of agricultural supply chains.

One area of attention is the role of Producer Organisations in facilitating market access. When farmers transact together with other parties in the supply chain the transaction costs and risks may be reduced. The success of Producer Organisations to reduce risks and raise the net returns of the producer members is generally related to the extent to which the organisation manages to structure contractual arrangements with the buyers of their produce. This is largely influenced by three main areas:

• The institutional environment, including the organisation and performance of the respective supply chain
• The internal organisational strength and capacities of the Producer Organisation
• The process of establishment and development of the Producer Organisation.

It is no coincidence that there is a saying that goes ‘Where the production sector is strong, the Association is strong’, a dictum that refers principally to the will to have a professional and efficient Association that responds to members needs, individually and collectively. In most developed countries, these demands increase every year due to the ever-changing requirements of commercial Farming.

In many cases, an individual producer or entrepreneur does not know everything about the legislation in action or being considered, the policies being pursued, historical trends etc. and this is where the Associations / Organisations start to play an important role in sectoral planning and also offer opportunity to have dialogue / consultation with various partners in their production and marketing chain.

Given the large small and marginal land holdings in the country in general and particularly in Assam where in small and marginal landholdings constitute more than 80%; the organization of producers gains much crucial both in input management and in marketing and finally to make the farming a economically viable enterprise on sustainable basis.

The organization of small and marginal producers has been considered a basic necessity in the current era of globalization and WTO in the country.

At Assam SFAC we work with producer organizations to strengthen their institutions and build their capacity to:

• access market opportunities, services and investments they need to increase their farm and off farm revenues, and
• make their voices heard in local, national and international forum where decisions that affect their lives are taken.