: This Lady’s Organic Collective Helps Farmers Increase Their Income by 6 Times #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational Geeta Singh, 48, was born and brought up in Delhi. She completed her honours in Political

This Lady’s Organic Collective Helps Farmers Increase Their Income by 6 Times #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational
Geeta Singh, 48, was born and brought up in Delhi. She completed her honours in Political Science from Gargi College in 1991, and later got married to Ravi Shankar, a former government employee who became a farmer, in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district. But she continued her education at Lucknow University and cleared her Masters in Political Science too.
“It was tough to get permission from my in-laws to study but my husband is supportive and helped convince them,??? Geeta says.
Her determination to do something different in life led her to helm the initiatives of a Farmers Producers company (FPO), which turned into a successful business that changed the lives of struggling farmers.
By The Farmers, For The Farmers
Geeta Singh
It was in 1995 when Geeta set up a rice mill where she provided jobs to others. There were 10 regular employees in the mill and 40 worked on contract.
“I was happy with my rice mill business. I had a good feeling about generating employment for others. But unfortunately, I had to shut down the business in 2000, as the district officials asked all the rice mills to shut in Gonda,??? says Geeta.
But the philanthropic entrepreneur soon found another avenue to help her community. She came across the concept of self-help groups (SHG) and gathered a group of women in 2006. She went on to train them in making various kinds of pickles, Makka flour, vermicompost, honey and a few more food products to sell them in the market in Gonda.
“There were 10 women in my SHG group and everyone was earning more than Rs 5,000 a month,??? Geeta says.
When the Central government introduced the farmers’ producers organisation (FPO) scheme, an initiative run by farmers who can collectively sell their products and crops across India, Geeta was inspired to set up one of her own.
In July 2019, she began talking to farmers and launched an FPO called Gonard Farmers Producers Company with an investment of Rs 1 lakh and 100 farmers. As she was already selling various farm products, she began reaching out to larger markets across Uttar Pradesh and increased production.
Since FPO is a government initiative to encourage more sales and improvement in the lifestyle of farmers, it also provides various kinds of training and machinery to the FPOs. Geeta after receiving some training began producing value-added products such as Makka biscuit, Makka laddu, custard oil, and they also increased the varieties of pickles to potato, amla, garlic, among others.
Changing Farmer Fortunes

Today, they are selling their products in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow and Allahabad.
“We are glad we are able to reach more customers while helping farmers earn more.