Before the scheme, FPOs were being promoted by the Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), NABARD, the National Rural Livelihood Mission and Maharashtra's agricultural competitiveness project. The report on Doubling of Farmers' Income had recommended 7,000 FPOs by 2022, and the Union Budget 2019-20 announced 10,000 new FPOs. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the scheme on 19 February 2020, to form the FPOs over 2019-20 to 2023-24, and the Prime Minister launched it on 29 February 2020. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund followed on 8 July 2020; by 7 December 2021 it had sanctioned loans of ₹6,098 crore for 8,488 projects.
Farmer Producer Organisations & Agri Infra Fund
Farmer Producer Organisations & Agri Infra Fund
The Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), launched on 29 February 2020 with a budget outlay of ₹6,865 crore till 2027-28, helps small, marginal and landless farmers form producer companies or cooperatives that buy inputs and sell produce together. The 10,000th FPO was launched in February 2025, and as of 1 January 2026 the scheme's FPOs had 56.32 lakh registered farmers, 21.96 lakh of them women. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, launched in July 2020, is a ₹1 lakh crore financing facility that gives interest subvention and credit guarantees on loans for post-harvest and community farming assets. As of March 2026, loans worth ₹84,202 crore had been sanctioned for 1.68 lakh projects under the Fund.
56.32 lakh
Farmers registered in scheme FPOs, 21.96 lakh of them women (1 Jan 2026)
₹84,202 cr
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund loans sanctioned for 1.68 lakh projects (March 2026)
₹5,035.5 cr
Cumulative turnover of scheme FPOs (30 June 2025)
FPOs registered under the 10,000 FPO scheme (target reached February 2025)
2020
10,000 FPO scheme approved and launched
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the scheme on 19 February 2020 with ₹4,496 crore for 2019-20 to 2023-24; the Prime Minister launched it on 29 February 2020.
2020
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund launched
A financing facility launched on 8 July 2020 for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets, with ₹1 lakh crore to be disbursed by 2025-26.
2021
First FPOs registered
2024
FPOs on ONDC
2024
Fund's scope widened
2025
10,000th FPO launched
2025
FPO turnover passes ₹5,000 crore
2026
56.32 lakh farmers in scheme FPOs
2026
₹84,202 crore sanctioned under the Fund
2020
2milestones
20202026
Latest
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund launched
A financing facility launched on 8 July 2020 for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets, with ₹1 lakh crore to be disbursed by 2025-26.
Why it matters Small, marginal and landless farmers often lack the economic strength to access technology, quality inputs, credit and markets on their own. Pooling them into FPOs lets them buy and sell at scale. Storage, sorting, grading and cold-chain facilities financed by the Fund let farmers keep produce longer and sell it at better prices, with lower post-harvest losses and fewer intermediaries.
- 19 February 2020: Cabinet approves ₹4,496 crore for 2019-20 to 2023-24, with a further committed liability of ₹2,369 crore for 2024-25 to 2027-28
- Each FPO: ₹18 lakh management cost over 3 years, a matching equity grant of ₹2,000 per farmer up to ₹15 lakh, and credit guarantee on project loans up to ₹2 crore
- By February 2025: ₹254.4 crore in equity grants released to 4,761 FPOs and credit guarantee cover worth ₹453 crore issued to 1,900 FPOs
- FPOs registered under the scheme: 713 (August 2021) → 8,875 (June 2024) → 9,411 (December 2024) → 10,000 (February 2025)
- Fund loans carry 3% a year interest subvention on up to ₹2 crore for a maximum of 7 years, with interest capped at 9% a year
- 4,724 FPOs registered on e-NAM (March 2026)
History
Notable milestone
The Prime Minister launched the 10,000th FPO at Bhagalpur, Bihar, on 24 February 2025, marking the achievement of the scheme's 10,000-FPO target; the FPO is registered in Khagaria district and deals in maize, banana and paddy. Registrations had risen from 713 in August 2021 to 8,875 by 30 June 2024 and 9,411 by December 2024. As of 1 January 2026, 56.32 lakh farmers were registered in the scheme's FPOs, 21.96 lakh of them women, and 1,175 FPOs had only women members. The FPOs reported a cumulative turnover of ₹5,035.5 crore as on 30 June 2025.
How it works
An FPO is registered under Part IXA of the Companies Act or a State Co-operative Societies Act, and is formed through Cluster Based Business Organisations engaged by implementing agencies such as SFAC, NCDC and NABARD; the initial minimum membership is 300 farmers in the plains and 100 in the North East and hilly areas. Each FPO gets handholding support for five years, ₹18 lakh towards management cost over three years, a matching equity grant of ₹2,000 per farmer up to ₹15 lakh, and credit guarantee on project loans up to ₹2 crore from a fund of up to ₹1,500 crore with NABARD and NCDC. Under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, banks and financial institutions lend at no more than 9% a year, with 3% a year interest subvention on loans up to ₹2 crore for up to seven years and guarantee cover through CGTMSE and, for FPOs, NABSanrakshan.
Outlook
The Fund was designed to complete loan sanctions of ₹1 lakh crore by the end of 2025-26, with interest subvention and guarantee support continuing till 2032-33; as of March 2026, ₹84,202 crore had been sanctioned. The FPO scheme's budget runs till 2027-28, covering five years of handholding for each FPO. By February 2025, equity grants had reached 4,761 FPOs and credit guarantee cover 1,900. FPOs are being linked to digital markets: almost 5,000 of 8,000 registered FPOs were on ONDC by March 2024, 4,724 FPOs were registered on e-NAM by March 2026, and a June 2024 agreement with CSC SPV provides for FPOs to deliver Common Services Centre services.
By the numbers
10,000 FPOs registered under the scheme (target reached February 2025). 56.32 lakh farmers in scheme FPOs, 21.96 lakh women (1 January 2026). ₹6,865 crore scheme outlay till 2027-28; ₹254.4 crore equity grants to 4,761 FPOs (February 2025). ₹84,202 crore Fund loans sanctioned for 1.68 lakh projects, mobilising ₹1.33 lakh crore (March 2026), up from ₹6,098 crore for 8,488 projects (December 2021). ₹5,035.5 crore cumulative FPO turnover (30 June 2025). Sources: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare via PIB (PRID 1603629, 1892987, 1778899, 2010600, 2040845, 2105462, 2106913, 2154174, 2224592; Note 152061; backgrounder of 5 June 2026); Lok Sabha replies of 10 August 2021 and 12 December 2024.
Data current to: FPO members as on 1 January 2026; Fund sanctions and e-NAM as of March 2026
Source: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare via PIB and Parliament replies — the timeline dates the approval and launch of the 10,000 FPO scheme (February 2020), the launch of the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (July 2020), FPO registrations (2021 and 2024), the widening of the Fund (August 2024), the 10,000th FPO (February 2025) and the latest counts of FPO members (1 January 2026) and Fund sanctions (March 2026). The headline, 10,000 FPOs formed, is from the Rajya Sabha reply of 6 February 2026 (linked). · link