Empowering farmers: The role of dairy-based farmer producers organizations (FPOs) Durga V., Pitchai C. Department of Cooperation, The Gandhigram Rural Institute (DTBU), Tamil Nadu, India Online published on 18 December, 2023. Abstract Small and marginal farmers, who constitute a significant portion of the agricultural workforce, often face challenges in integrating into domestic and global value chains. Dairy-based Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have emerged as a promising solution to address these challenges and empower small and marginal farmers in the dairy sector. This paper examines the role of dairy- based FPOs in integrating small and marginal farmers into value chains, both domestically and globally. It explores how FPOs enhance farmers’ bargaining power, provide access to resources and technology, offer training and capacity building, enable value addition and processing, facilitate market linkages, and promote financial inclusion. Hence, this study was conducted in Illuppur Agricultural Producer Company Limited (IAPCL), Illuppur, Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu. For this study 100 dairy farmer members were selected and primary data was collected through the structured interview schedule. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the role of FPOs in empowering farmers and contributing to their improved livelihoods, productivity, and participation in the dairy sector. Top Keywords Small and marginal farmers, Empowerment, Dairy-based FPOs, Value chain, The dairy sector. Top |