Farmer producer organisations (FPOs) have emerged as a critical pillar in India’s efforts to empower small and marginal farmers through collective enterprise. Recognising their potential, the Government of India launched the central sector scheme ‘Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations’ in 2020 to institutionalise and strengthen farmer collectives nationwide. In early 2025, the scheme achieved this target, marking a significant milestone in scaling up organised farming enterprises across the country.
More recently, at BIOFACH 2026—the world's leading exhibition for organic products—held in February in Nuremberg, Germany, FPOS were a part of the Indian pavilion that hosted 67 co-exhibitors, which reflects their increasing participation in the area.
Currently, the total number of FPOs registered in India stands at 18,000. Among these, more than 1,100 FPOs have achieved an annual business turnover exceeding INR 1 crore, demonstrating their emerging commercial viability and potential to transform rural economies. However, a substantial number of FPOs remain inactive or face financial stress due to a lack of sustained income streams. Consequently, they struggle to meet operational costs and are also unable to respond to market dynamics. This leads to stagnation or closure. Diversification of income sources can be instrumental in providing financial stability to FPOs and ensuring their long-term sustainability.
In this context, agrivoltaics—a practice that co-locates solar photovoltaics (PV) with agricultural activities—offers a promising opportunity to revitalise FPOs. By combining crop cultivation with solar PV, agrivoltaics enables the dual use of land and hence the simultaneous production of food and clean energy.
Importantly, the FPO-led agrivoltaics model empowers farmer organisations to invest and own the plant, rather than merely leasing land to external renewable energy service company (RESCO) developers. Ownership not only ensures that revenues from electricity production remain within the community but also strengthens the institutional capacity and asset base of the FPO.
A leading example of this approach is Sahyadri Farms, India’s largest FPO, which installed a 250 kW agrivoltaics plant in Nashik, focusing on grape and citrus cultivation. The pilot—a part of the ‘DeveloPPP for Agrivoltaics’ initiative—demonstrated that integrating solar PV with horticulture was feasible and can enhance the value chain. The Sahyadri Farms experience offers a valuable blueprint for other FPOs seeking to adopt agrivoltaics.
The benefits of the FPO-led agrivoltaics model are manifold. Besides providing a steady income stream through the sale of electricity, the model allows FPOs to use the power produced for operating crop processing and storage facilities such as cold storages, and drying, chaff-cutting, milling, and packaging plants. Since such facilities typically pay commercial electricity tariffs in the range of INR 8–10 per kilowatt-hour, using the electricity generated through agrivoltaics can be a highly cost-effective alternative.
FPOs engaged in animal husbandry—particularly within the dairy sector—can gain significantly by installing agrivoltaics. They can cultivate green fodder such as grasses and legumes beneath solar panels to ensure a reliable supply of quality feed for livestock throughout the year. Additionally, the electricity generated can be used to operate the essential processing infrastructure (bulk milk chillers, milk packaging units, and other value-addition facilities), reducing energy costs considerably and strengthening the entire dairy value chain, which would eventually increase the overall earnings of farmers.
For project financing, an FPO is expected to source approximately 30% of the total project cost as equity. If the FPO-led agrivoltaics model is adopted, the remaining capital can be financed through concessional loans by leveraging the existing schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyaan (PM KUSUM), the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), and blended finance mechanisms, grants, and partnerships with corporate social responsibility initiatives and impact investors. Such diversified financial support can enable FPOs to access the necessary capital while managing risks effectively.
Finally, by consolidating community control over assets, the model furthers the broader goals of rural economic empowerment and renewable energy adoption.
Clearly then, scaling up this model holds promise. For this, strategic targeting should be initiated for crop-specific FPOs engaged in value chains that have a considerable potential for post-harvest processing and value addition (examples include turmeric, potatoes, tea, and grapes). Region-based FPOs (like those in arid, semi-arid, and rain-fed zones where dual land use is of utmost benefit to farmers) should also be prioritised simultaneously to extend the model’s reach. Attention should be given to women-run FPOs (approximately 800 in India as of 2025) as well to promote inclusivity and empower rural women.
Besides the above measures, consistent efforts to inform, educate, and upskill all FPO members on the technical, financial, and operational aspects of agrivoltaics through awareness campaigns, capacity-building workshops, and exposure visits need to be made. Further, institutional handholding during project conception and implementation phases should be provided to overcome technical and regulatory challenges.
India has accorded a vital role to agrivoltaics in its clean energy transition efforts. At a high-level stakeholder consultation held in September 2025 to reflect on the future of PM KUSUM 2.0, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) proposed the National Agriphotovoltaics Mission, which is likely to be launched later this year. This presents an opportune time for FPOs to leverage the potential of agrivoltaics and build a community-led, green, and robust rural economy for India.
Suhas Sathyakiran is an Analyst in the renewables group at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).
