What : Voluntary organizations controlled by their farmer-members who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions.

 Benefits :

• All persons will use their services without discrimination
• Operatives provide education and training for their farmer-members
• Engage farmers in collective farming and address productivity issues emanating from small farm sizes.
• Provide low-cost and quality inputs to member farmers
• Aggregation of produce and bulk transport reduces marketing cost, thus, enhancing net income of the producer
• Regular supply of produce and quality control is possible through proper planning and management
• Access to financial resources against the stock, without collaterals.

Associated Challenges

• Lack of trained manpower who can manage business professionally
• Not financially strong enough to deliver vibrant products and services to their members and build confidence
• Inadequate Access to Credit
• Inadequate access to basic infrastructure required for aggregation like transport facilities, storage, value addition and processing, brand building and marketing