Gujpro Agribusiness Consortium Producer Company Ltd. (GUJPRO) is a consortium of FPOs formed to advance the business and policy interests of FPOs in Gujarat. GUJPRO in the role of a state level producer Company uses market based strategies to enhance the livelihoods of small farmers. The consortium utilizes its collective strength to negotiate with market players like manufacturers, suppliers of goods and services, technology providers, traders, processors, financial institutions, service providers, etc. The idea is to enhance the income and knowledge of the farmers, thus making agriculture a viable and profitable profession for them.
The company was registered on 31st October 2014, under the Companies Act 2013. Currently, the company has 33 FPOs as its shareholder members and 20 FPOs as its associates. The members of GUJPRO are located in different regions of Gujarat which includes Saurashtra region, Kutch, North Gujarat, Central Gujarat, South Gujarat and Tribal areas of the state. Diversified set of crops are grown in these regions and the partners are involved in varied types of business activities.
Gujpro made a notable contribution in building the capacities of FPOs through its approach of hand holding and risk sharing in business.The company also contributed in policy advocacy especially at the state level so that FPOs gain space and recognition in the spectrum of schemes and policies of the state and central government.
Initially the company started with 10 promoting FPOs and now the membership base has increased to 33 FPOs. Gujpro has outreach with many more FPOs and also NGOs from the state in the form of business participation, knowledge sharing and capacity building.
To act as an interface and an interlink between the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and the buyers for promotion of agricultural products in the domestic and overseas market.
Achieve income growth for small scale producers by maximizing the opportunities for trade through an integrated approach, addressing the issues at every stage of the product value chain.
Considering the merits of taking collective actions in value addition and marketing of agriculture produce; for knowledge sharing and for policy reforms, a state level forum was proposed during a state level workshop jointly organized by SFAC, Development Support Center (DSC) and Sajjata Sangh during the year 2012. After initial consultation with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), NGOs, experts and other stakeholders from Gujarat, an informal forum of FPOs know by the name of Gujarat Rajya Krushak Manch was formed on 27th November 2012 by Sajjata Sangh. For the next two years, the forum acted as an active platform for knowledge and information sharing and had made notable contribution towards building the capacities of FPOs and FPO Promoting Institutions.
The first Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement program of groundnut by Small Farmer Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) during the year 2013 was coordinated by Gujarat Rajya Krushak Manch. Realizing the major need for marketing of agricultural produce by member FPOs, it was decided to register the informal forum of FPOs as a producer company. Hence, Gujpro Agribusiness Consortium Producer Company Ltd. came into existence on 31st October 2014.
Since then, GUJPRO has carried out several interventions to support FPOs- which includes supporting them in processing and marketing of their produce, helping them avail external borrowings and providing them trade specific trainings. There has been a learning curve by gaining experience of working on different commodities which has improved the performance of the company over the years. The major focus of the company has remained on groundnut crop beginning from the seed production till the sale of secondary processed products. The federation also aims to provide local and global marketing and branding support to the FPOs products.