Guwahati: The Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART) will form and support 125 Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) in 24 APART districts as part of a major initiative to boost agriculture through enterprise development, asset creation, market linkage, and industry association.

99 new FPCs will be created as part of the initiative, and 26 existing FPCs will be supported. The registration of 29 FPCs in the five undivided districts of Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, and Cachar has been completed.

The Rs 1,700-crore World Bank-sponsored project, according to Vinod Seshan, Secretary, Agriculture, Assam, and Project Director, Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) involved the convergence of 15 departments for facilitating a number of interventions, including the development of roads and marketplaces aimed at blending enterprise and agriculture to trigger a number of interventions.

"The focus is on improving backward and forward connections to integrate input suppliers, producers, and markets, resulting in more efficient value chains."

Other objectives include building farmer members' ability and abilities in bulk input purchases, agricultural mechanization, aggregation, post-harvest management, value addition, and marketing," he added.

The prolonged Covid-induced lockdown and African Swine Fever hampered development, but "we have made a start, and things are moving up now," Seshan said.

Each FPC would receive one Common Service Center (CSC) as part of the initiative, and 12 FPCs have received CSCs so far. The approval of ten current FPCs and two new FPCs