Abstract

                               Farmers’ collectives such as co-operatives and farmer producer organizations emerged as alternatives for increasing market participation and reducing transaction cost through collective action (Markelova et al., 2009; Valentinov 2007). Farmer producer companies can be considered as a hybrid between private companies and co-operatives (Trebbin 2014). The present study aims to identify the role of value chain actors like farmers, Farmer Producer Organization by mapping the value chain of millets and the retailers and the constraints faced by the farmers in the production of millets. The primary data was collected from the sample respondents of 60 farmers, one millet based FPO and three retailers of the FPO. Data were collected using a pretested well-structured interview schedule. The role of actors was constructed using the generic worksheets along with mapping of value chain millets and the constraints faced by farmers were analyzed using Garrett’s ranking technique. The results of the study revealed that the farmers are not involved in the value addition for their produce. Monsoon failure, erratic rainfall and the non-availability of the quality seeds were the major constraints faced by the farmers.

Key words : Farmer Producer Organization, Millets, Value chain, Constraints