CBBOs are the professional organisations that do the field work of the scheme. This part explains how they are chosen and empanelled, the team they must have, how long they are engaged, and what the ₹25 lakh per FPO pays for.
The short version
- Implementing agencies empanel CBBOs using uniform criteria approved by the Department.
- A CBBO needs five kinds of specialists: crops, marketing and processing, social mobilisation, law and accounts, and IT/MIS.
- Engagement lasts up to five years for forming new FPOs, with support for each FPO for its five years.
- Up to ₹25 lakh per FPO, including taxes, covers mobilisation, training, handholding and the CBBO's own costs.
How CBBOs Are Selected
A committee recommends uniform criteria, the Department approves them, and each implementing agency empanels CBBOs against them.
- Criteria are set. A committee chaired by the MD of SFAC, with representatives of NABARD, NCDC and NAFED, recommends eligibility criteria: experts' qualifications and experience, areas of expertise, minimum experience and net worth.
- The Department approves. DA&FW approves the criteria, and all implementing agencies follow the same criteria. The NPMA helps run the empanelment.
- Agencies empanel. Each implementing agency draws up its list of empanelled CBBOs.
- Work is allocated. CBBOs are engaged for clusters, with work matched to their staff, past turnover and experience.
State and central agricultural universities and KVKs that promote FPOs may also be empanelled as CBBOs, on nomination, in consultation with the national committee.
Source: Operational Guidelines 7.1 and 7.2; Addendum items 7 and 8
Did you know?SFAC's scheme page listed 178 empanelled CBBOs as of October 2022.
The Team a CBBO Needs
An established organisation with experience of forming FPOs, and specialists in five fields.
Crop husbandry
Good practices, inputs and production planning.
Marketing, value addition and processing
Buyers, grading, processing and market links.
Social mobilisation
Bringing farmers together into groups and the FPO.
Law and accounts
Registration, compliance, accounts and audit.
IT and MIS
Data entry, reports and the national portal.
The CBBO must be a going concern with professional experience of forming FPOs and supporting them. One state may have several CBBOs, and one CBBO may work in more than one state. Staff work from the CBBO's own offices in the state or from the implementing agency's offices.
Source: Operational Guidelines 7.1(a) to (c)
How Long, and What If It Fails
Up to five years of engagement for forming new FPOs; poor performance can lead to stopped payments or removal from the panel.
Original rule (2020)
- Initial engagement of up to three years for forming FPOs
- Term could be extended if performance was satisfactory
Current rule (Addendum)
- Engagement of up to five years for forming new FPOs
- Each FPO is supported for its full five years
- If performance is unsatisfactory at any point, the agency may stop the grant or withdraw empanelment
The implementing agency reviews each CBBO's performance from time to time to decide whether it continues.
Source: Operational Guidelines 7.2(e) and (f); Addendum item 9
What the ₹25 Lakh Covers
Up to ₹25 lakh per FPO over five years, including taxes, for all the work of forming and supporting it.
The formation and incubation cost is up to ₹25 lakh per FPO, including applicable taxes, or the actual cost if lower, for five years from the year of formation. It covers:
- the baseline survey and mobilising farmers;
- awareness programmes and exposure visits;
- professional handholding and incubation;
- the cost of engaging the CBBO, and its overheads.
It is released in stages after the implementing agency checks the milestones in Part 6 and receives the utilisation certificate for the previous release. The NPMA's own costs and the national portal are funded separately.
Source: Operational Guidelines 7.4 and 9.1; Addendum item 11
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see whether you are right, and why.
Who approves the criteria for selecting CBBOs?
- The CBBO itself
- DA&FW, on a committee's recommendation
- The District Collector
The committee chaired by the MD of SFAC recommends; DA&FW approves.
How many kinds of specialists must a CBBO have?
- Two
- Five
- Ten
Crop husbandry; marketing and processing; social mobilisation; law and accounts; IT and MIS.
What can an agency do if a CBBO performs poorly?
- Nothing until year five
- Stop the grant or withdraw empanelment
- Only give a warning
The Addendum allows these steps at any point, following due procedure.
Remember these things
- Uniform criteria, approved by DA&FW, decide who becomes a CBBO.
- Five specialists are required.
- Engagement is up to five years; poor performance can end it.
- Up to ₹25 lakh per FPO including taxes, released in stages.
Part 8 covers registering the FPO, its board and its bank account. For FPOs whose members are also certified under PGS-India, KrushiFlow submits farmer records to the PGS-India portal in bulk.