Post-Intervention Impact Assesment of FPO development

program through Mentha Value Chain in Uttar Pradseh

Submitted to

Institute of Rural Management, Jaipur

for

Spardha
18th Annual National Level Summer Project Presentation Competition

to be held on
27 - 28th November, 2020
th

by

Soumyadeep Sarkar
MBA(AB), 2021

Institute of Agri Business Management,

Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University
Sri Ganganagar Rd, Bichhwal, Bikaner, Rajasthan 334006
Project Details
Organisation: Technoserve India
Project Title: Walmart Project - Baseline cum Annual Assessment Study
Term of Contract: 18 May 2020 to 10 July 2020
Location: Remotely, assigned to the UP Interventions in Mentha Value Chain
Pre-intervention/ Baseline period: 2018
Intervention/ Impact year: 2019

Executive Summary
The summer project was done under Ashwattha Advisors Pvt. Ltd, - AAPL, a subsidiary of
TechnoServe Inc., through a Walmart Foundation funded project which is implementing a two-
year program to transform 25-30 FPOs from Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh , covering
25,000 small farming households. ‘Livelihoods and Market Access Program in Uttar Pradesh and
Andhra Pradesh’ envisions to build capacity of 20-25 FPOs to become active market players in
agricultural value chains in India. Two concerned FPO under study was Navsandhan Kisan
Producer Company Limited and Raebareli Farmer Producer Company Limited for the Baseline
year of 2018 with that of intervention period of 2019. Mentha has already been an important crop
in the region, but Technoserve brought in meaningful changes through Strengthening FPOs
governance structures and management systems by training the Board of Directors (BoDs),
Training farmers in improved agronomy practices and post-harvest management, Improving
FPOs access to institutional finance. 40 out of 46 farmers accepted that the intervention has
brought in meaningful changes. More than the quantitative development in one year, they are
satisfied with the qualitative changes with better market information, easy selling and reliable
knowledge bank to bring in instrumental changes.

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 1. Introduction

India’s economy has experienced tremendous growth in urban industries such as services
and information technology. However, around 172 million Indians continue to live in poverty
and of these, 69 percent live in rural areas. More than two-thirds of the population depends on
agriculture—mostly at a small-scale or subsistence level—for their livelihoods. TechnoServe
(TNS) is a not for profit economic development agency which creates business solutions to
poverty. They work closely with rural and urbanizing women and men in developing countries to
build enterprises that generate income, create livelihood opportunities and fuel economic growth.
Headquartered in the United States, they operate in more than 30 countries.
TechnoServe has been active in India since 2007, working to: 1) Strengthen value chains:
They work hands-on with smallholder farmers, enabling them to grow high-value products,
engage with private sector companies and sell in profitable markets; 2) Support entrepreneurs in
poor areas: They provide business training and support to women and men who want to create
thriving, sustainable enterprises; 3) Promote sustainable local economic development: Their
market-led approach increases incomes for target groups, catalyzing further economic and social
development in their communities. Ashwattha Advisors Pvt. Ltd, - AAPL, a subsidiary of
TechnoServe Inc., through a Walmart Foundation funded project is implementing a two-year
program to transform 25-30 FPOs from Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh , covering 25,000
small farming households. ‘Livelihoods and Market Access Program in Uttar Pradesh and
Andhra Pradesh’ envisions to build capacity of 20-25 FPOs to become active market players in
agricultural value chains in India. The program aims to provide incremental benefit to the small-
holder farmer members through improved marked access via these FPOs. It also endeavours to
improve gender outcomes by promoting at least 50% membership of women farmers in on-
boarded FPOs in the program. This is to be achieved through:
a) Strengthening FPOs governance structures and management systems by training the Board of
Directors (BoDs)
b) Training farmers in improved agronomy practices and post-harvest management
c) Improving FPOs access to institutional finance

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The concerned summer project was having a geographic spread of 2 districts (Barabanki &
Raebareli), 8 blocks (12 villages) in Barabanki, 3 Blocks (13 villages) in Raebareli. The scope
and reach of the intervention were targeted toward 1200 farmers. In the said region, the program
was conducted through two FPOs, namely Navsandhan Kisan Producer Company Limited and
Raebareli Farmer Producer Company Limited. By intervention, it includes GAP Training; Root
Stalk Buyers and Market Access Farmers. But to study the impact in its entirety the total
population farmers of approximately 73 were selected who completed the cycle with the
procurement of the mentha oil by the FPOs. Total sampled farmers surveyed are 46. The
sampling methodology and size was determined through Proportionate Random Sampling
(Proportion Based on FPC and Gender). Samples drawn were proportionate to the number of
farmers who engaged in procurement operations from each FPO, to ensure representation from
each FPO. During the survey process, farmers were also approached through convenience based
approach. The method of data collection was Telephonic Surveys through a structured & closed
ended questionnaires, which was followed by entry of data in, mobile application based data
collection platform, Commcare. The data were analysed upon as a part of pre-post survey
methodology, with quantitative analysis of data done in Microsoft Excel.

Objectives: The project was defined with four key objectives-

 Understanding Mentha value chains in the context of Uttar Pradesh
 Surveying Mentha farmers to understand pre-intervention systems & practices and post-
intervention impact
 To know about Farmer profile, production systems, system of crop sales, crop economics
etc.
 Prepare broad analysis to understand the trends emerging in the data
The said objectives were to be fulfilled through key activities, which included-
a) Understanding the timelines and requirements of the evaluation study
b) A comprehensive literature review of the intervention assigned
c) Administering and collecting data through telephonic surveys with farmers
d) Conducting telephonic surveys with the board of directors of program FPCs (Farmer Producer
Company)
e) Digitizing survey responses while ensuring clean data for further analysis.

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f) Conduct first level of data analysis of the information
g) Prepare analyzed reports (in a document and/ or presentation format).
Following Table 1 presents the demographic characteristics of respondents.
Table 1: Demographics of Respondents
FPO representation of sample population, Sample Size = 46
Navsandhan Kisan Producer Company Limited 24
Raebareli Farmer Producer Company Limited 22
Gender-wise representation
Male 30
Female 16
Age Group, Years
16-25 5
26-35 8
36-45 19
46-55 9
56-65 5
Land Holding Pattern
Marginal (Lesser than 1 ha) 35
Small (1-2 ha) 6
Medium (2-4 ha) 3
Large (Greater than 4 ha) 2
Cropping Pattern
Mentha, Paddy, Wheat 19
Mentha, Paddy, Potato, Wheat 7
Mentha, Paddy, Wheat, Mustard 8
Mentha, Paddy, Potato 2
Others 10
Income Profile, Annual
Less than INR 1 lakhs 19
INR 1-2.5 lakhs 17
INR 2.5-4 lakhs 6
INR 4-5.5 lakhs 2
INR 5.5-7 lakhs 2
Educational Qualification
Uneducated 7
Primary 5
Secondary 9
10th Pass 6
12th Pass 10
Graduate 8
Post Graduate 1

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Mentha is an aromatic perennial herb, which also goes by the name Japanese pudina in India.
Mentha have been known from the immemorial time as kitchen herbs and also as the medicinal
herbs of the ancient human civilization. In modern times, steam distillation and filtration of dried
Mentha arvensis leaves produces mentha oil, which can be processed to yield menthol and other
derivatives. Mentha oil and its derivatives are extensively used in food, pharmaceutical,
perfumery, and flavouring industry.
According to Sukhmal Chand et.al., Mentha arvensis was first introduced in India for
commercial establishment by Col. R. N. Chopra and I. C. Chopra of the Regional Research
Laboratory, Jammu Tawi in 1952 from Japan through the courtesy of UNESCO. Mentha is now
established as a viable commercial crop with high return as compared to the traditional
agricultural crops.
Mentha oil prices have always been quite volatile. In the last few years, India has emerged as
an export hub for mentha oil and its derivatives, and generating revenues for the farming
community.
Although the crop was introduced in the year 1952, but the crop couldn’t been commercially
exploited due to the conservative attitude of the farmer. Mentha arvensis cultivation on a large
scale was initiated by Richardson Hindustan Ltd., Bilaspur in 1964.
In the 1980s, new strains were introduced by the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic
Plants (CIMAP) that gave improved oil yields. By 1996, India was producing 6000 tonnes of
mentha oil and surpassed 45,000 tonnes in 2013, according to trade sources. Much of the
increase in mentha oil production, particularly its exports, came in after 2004, after the
introduction of futures contracts based on mentha oil as the underlying. India is the largest
producer and exporter of mentha oil and its derivatives. The acreage of mint production in India,
is steadily increasing due to the popularity of this crop among growers.
In India, the production of Mint (Mentha) for the year 2017-18 was 33000 MT on an area of
327000 Ha (Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, 2018). This accounts
for about 75% of total menthol mint production in the world. India grows Japanese mint in tarai
districts (Rudrapur, Bilaspur etc.) of Uttaranchal and central U.P. (Barabanki, Moradabad,
Bareily, Badaun and Lucknow) besides smaller area in parts of Punjab (Ludhiana and Jallandhar)
(National Horticulture Board, n.d.) In India, Uttar Pradesh accounts for around 90% of Indian

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mint production, with the remaining 10% coming from smaller areas in the Punjab, Rajasthan
etc.
Figure 1: Production of Mint in India during 2017-2018

Thus, the area of the project Raebareli and Barabanki are one of the most important region
with well-nourished culture of Mentha cultivation.
Usage
Japanese mint (or corn mint), Mentha arvensis, is the source of a major raw material for
the flavours and fragrances industry. Distillation provides mint oil, and further processing
(chilling) provides menthol crystals and dementholised mint oil (DMO) is reconstituted to
produce an oil similar to Mentha piperita oil. Post-extraction, the remnant spent grass also finds
usage.
According to usage, On the basis of application, the market for mentha oil has been
segmented as follows:
 Pharmaceuticals
 Food
 Cosmetics
 Others (including tobacco products, fragrance industry, household cleaning products, and
confectionaries)
Market and Export Scenario
The industries taking part in the business are Flavour & Fragrance Houses, Pharmaceuticals
Companies, Cosmetics Manufactures, Personal Care Products, Beauty Products Manufactures,
Oral Care Products, Tobacco Companies, Cigarette Filter Manufacturers, Industrial Fragrance

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Manufacturers, Incense Stick Manufacturers, Disinfectant Manufacturers, Attar Manufacturers,
Paint Manufacturers, Solvent Consumers.
Though Mentha finds so much usage, Mentha in India is export oriented crop with
production volume of 80% of the world population, of which 75% are exported. India is the
largest producer and exporter of mentha oil in the world. At present the major producers of mint
oil in the world are India, China, Brazil and the US.

Figure 2: Trends in Mint Product

Export Qty.
Table 2: Export of Mint (including leaves of all the The Global Scenario of the production and
30000 demand gives the image of the export
species) from India
potential of the Indian mint market, as
25000 shown in fig. 3 below. The total production
Year Quantity Values
around the world varies in between 40000-
20000 (‘000 Kgs) ($ Million)
50000 tonnes per year.
2019-2020 (Apr- 135.47 263980.70
Jan)
15000 Figure 3: Global Scenario of Production
2018-2019 148.62 330078.09
and Consumption of Mint
10000
2017-2018 80.31 303526.16

2016-2017
5000 96.07 275852.43

2015-2016 31.64 262291.09

0
Source: Export Import Data Bank, Ministry of
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Commerce& Industry, Department of Commerce.

Factors affecting Mentha

But the mentha markets are influenced by several factors, as follows
International factors
 Import demand from major importing countries such as China, the U.S., and Singapore.
 USD–INR rate, the commodity being export-oriented.
 Price of synthetic mentha oil in international market.
Domestic factors
 Production related

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 Mentha oil price is influenced by an increase or decrease in the mentha crop acreage which
depends on the climate during sowing and the price realization in the previous season.
 Prevailing weather conditions; the incidence of cold wave and heavy rains are harmful
during leaf formation.
 Quantum of arrivals during the harvest season.
Consumption
 Domestic demand from pharmaceutical companies which usually increases in winter
 Export demand from importing countries
Stocks
 Mentha oil stocks in MCX-accredited warehouses, carry forward stocks, and stocks
available with farmers are key indicators of supplies and influence prices.

Marketing Channel
According to Choudhary et.al. (2017). The marketing of menthol is dominated by processor
(Channel-I). Around 73 per cent produce is marketed through channel- I. A component of the
marketing cost of the producer was cost incurred on distillation and processing of menthol. The
marketing cost incurred by the farmers is slightly more in channel number- II as compared to
channel number- I. The marketing cost in channel- II is higher due to involment of more
intermediary and processing cost. Producers’ share in consumer rupee is high i.e. 87.30 per cent
in channel- I while it is 83.10 per cent in channel II respectively. Even though the mentha
cultivation is profitable, there are lot of lacuna in marketing of mentha like lack of awareness
about export market and existence of intermediaries between farmers and processors/industries.
Hence, there is immediate need to organize marketing of menthol through cooperative lines in
the study area.
There are two prevalent menthol marketing channels at Uttar Pradesh-
Channel Number Marketing Channel
Channel I Producer- Processor- Industry/Company
Channel II Producer- Local trader-Processor- Industry/Company
Studies suggest that the producer’s share in these channels are about 83-88% of the price,
whereas the cost of marketing is 7-8%. The rest being the share of the channel partners.

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The major trading centre in India are Sambhal, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Chandausi,
Badaun, Bareilly, and Mumbai.
Trends
In spite of stiff competition and a high volatility of Mint Market, Mentha owe its success to
their ability to anticipate its customers' requirement and market trend through its long term
contract based business policies.
Due to growing concern of consumers about chemical residues in food products, the
demand for safe and natural food is increasing greatly. The use of natural additives such as
spices and herbal oil as seasoning agents for their antimicrobial activity has been extensively
investigated.
A study by Ramakant(2015) based in Uttar Pradesh concludes that Cost : Benefit Ratio or
Output : Input Ratio for Mentha cultivators varies, where the marginal farmers have 1:1.950 and
medium farmers show 1:1.250 ratio. Thus, the crop clearly goes in favour of small marginal
farmers, and can uplift them from their plights.
There is limited government intervention in Mentha market. There is no Minimum Support
Price inspite of a growing demand of cultivation of this crop.
The market is dominated by big players, and hardly small farmers with their limited
produce can make a headspace. They often deal with the commission agents, and traders who in
turn deals with the large processors and industries.
Although the crop and its product individually amounts to the largest group amongst the
exported spices from India, the physical market of the crop is very fragmented, with no proper
national marketing infrastructure.

Technoserve’s Intervention
Here traditional and proposed models have been discussed.

Table 4: Traditional Model of Value Chain of Mentha

Traditional Model
Farmer

 Farmers grow mentha of three varieties: Kosi; Simkranti and Punjab Golden
 Mentha is produced in the form of leaves
 After mentha is harvested, it is taken to distillation centres by farmers for extracting
mentha oil

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  Majorly all farmers store the mentha oil in their homes and hold it for better prices
Farmer Distillation Centre  The village distillations charge INR 400/ton for oil extraction
 Labour and Wood used during distillation is paid by the farmer
 Distillers are prevalent every 4-5 villages
 Most large buyers have their distillation centres in the villages
 Distillers also act as traders; the centre also acts as warehouse for oil for multiple farmers
 Farmers receive the oil from distillation centre and store it in homes
 Most farmers do staggered sales of the oil to the traders as and when they require money
given it has the shelf life of 7 years
Local Trader

 High concentration of traders at the village level

 Test the produce on two test before buying: Congealing Point (CP) Test; Caustic Test
 Traders usually believe on word of mouth by the farmer on the quality of produce
 Traders have assured buyers i.e. industrial buyer; multi-commodity exchange (MCX)
Secondary Buyer

 Major secondary buyers are: industries: pharmaceutical; confectionary and tobacco;

MCX
 These buyers check for produce quality through 4 tests: CP test; ethanol test; sodium
hydroxide test; distilled water test and test for Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC) level
 Higher GLC is preferred for medicine and goes for further refining to institutional buyers
Institutional

 These buyers check for produce quality through 4 tests: CP test; ethanol test; sodium
Buyer

hydroxide test; distilled water test and test for Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC) level
 Oil is further refined to make final products like medicines; tobacco; chewing gum
Export

 Exporters check for produce quality through 4 tests: CP test; ethanol test; sodium
hydroxide test; distilled water test and test for Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC) level
 They usually have their buyers at the secondary

Table 5: Proposed Intervention in Value Chain of Mentha

Proposed Model
Farmer

 Engage with farmers to avail Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
(CIMAP) certified roots talk as per demand of the three varieties: Kosi; Simkranti and
Punjab Golden
 Train farmers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
Distillation
Centre

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Farmer
 Engage with procurement of mentha oil from farmers through the FPOs
 Ensure quality through four tests: CP test; ethanol test; sodium hydroxide test; distilled
water test
 Explore better markets
Trader
Local
Institutional Secondary
Buyer

 Engage with final product users/refiners/processors for procurement of mentha oil from
Buyer

farmers through the FPOs

Export

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 2. Findings and Analysis
I) There was an increase in the land holding under Mentha with the support from the FPOs. The
huge gap in the Mean and Mode suggests the trend of small land holdings in the region. Findings
suggest, Maximum holding for the year 2018 & 2019 was 40 bigha and 35 bigha respectively as
mentioned in Table 5.

Table 5: Land Holding Pattern under Mentha Cultivation

Land 2018 2019
Mean 5.83 6.22
Mode 3 3.35

II) There is an average increase in the production volume, though the median remaining same
across the year. The stocking behaviour of the respondents as found similar in the study.
Stocking behaviour was visible in around 45% of the sample population. The trend suggests that
farmers with highest production (i.e. top 10 farmers) showing a stocking behaviour more, around
60%, while the lowest production group (i.e. bottom 10 farmers) hardly stock menthe oil. Table
6 depicts production volume of mentha during year 2018 and 2019.

Table 6: Production Volume

Volume 2018 2019
Mean 60 62.57
Mode 37.5 37.5

III) Interaction between the three parameters, with yield referring to the size of bubble-

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Figure: 4 Interaction between Production Volume, Land Holding and Yield during 2019

2019

Figure: 5 Interaction between Production Volume, Land Holding and Yield during 2018

2018

Yield 2018 2019 %change

Mean 12.34917184 12.33743495 -3.963200675

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In case if the extreme 10% of the datasets are ignored the average yield comes out to be
11.04801 kg/bigha.
IV) Nothing conclusive or no trend could have been formed from the share of variety. A key
finding from this is that the illiteracy and low education rate is responsible for unawareness
amongst farmers. Though the variety of 2020 was beyond the scope of the survey, there was a
general rise in popularity can be seen for ‘Punjab Golden’.

Table 7: Varieties used by farmers during 2018 and 2019

Variety 2018 2019

Kosi 23 22
Sinkranti 1 2
Unaware 10 10
Safed 8 7
Lal 1 2
Other 3 3

V) Buyer Seller Interaction suggests that though majority people had interaction with single
buyer, but some had interaction with multiple buyers too.

Table 8: Buyer Seller Interaction

Buyer
201 201 Distribution Other Village Level
Buyer Stats 8 9 Interaction FPO Local Traders s Aggregator Non-FPO
Multiple
Buyer 0 8 2018 11 13 1 21 35

Single Buyer 46 38 2019 43 1 1 1 3

4 4 8

43 5 1 5 11

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VI) The majority of the reasons for the transactions with FPO in 2018 & 2019 was expectation of
better price and transparent weighing practices. The majority of the reasons for the transactions
with non-FPO in 2018 & 2019 was either due to old relations or no other options available to
them in that region
Table 9: Reasons for Non-Interaction during 2018 and 2019

Reason for Non-interaction 2018 2019

not_approached 14 2

not_aware 27 1

Delay in Payment 0 1

Others 0 1

Figure 6: Reasons for Interaction during 2018 and 2019

Reason for Interaction

10%

3% 24% expectation_of_better_price
2%
3% 6% 1% transparent_weighing_practic
es
3% testing_grading_practices
13% 33%
doorstep_sale
old_relationship
10% settlement_of_advances
option_beyond_existing_ones
19% no_other_options_available
near_home
7% 26% 21%

17%

VII) One of the major reason of the interaction between farmers and FPO was due to genuine
weighing practices of the FPOs. Manual scale used by most of the non-FPO entities was a reason

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for loss in weight in some cases. Though there were few cases reported by the sellers about this
malpractice but most of them told there was no notable weight loss.

Table 10: Digital and Manual Weighing Scales

Weighing Scale (in percent) Digital Manual

FPOs 100 0
NonFPOs 32.14 67.86

Average Loss in weight for manual weighing

scale(for reported case) 24.05 grams/kg

VIII) In terms of transaction count and volume village level middlemen was the major buyer
segment in 2018, while FPO replaced it in 2019. In terms of rate provided to the farmer village
level middlemen was the highest payer in 2018, while in 2019 they continued to lead with
average INR1193, which is >5.09% of the non-FPO entity. But this average rate can be
misleading due to the wide variations of menthe price
Table 11: Average Rates of Transaction
Transaction Total(kg) 2018 2019 Average Rate 2018 2019
FPO 248 9.33 1947 86.30 FPO 1096.11 1193.93
Local Mandi Traders 949 35.70 0 0 Local Mandi
Village level Traders 1007.5 ---
middlemen 1461 54.96 309 13.69 Village level
2658 100 2256 100 middlemen 1211.19 1258
1104.93 1225.96

IX) The average cost of cultivation(Rs./kg) is around 5144.24 and 5935.62 with irrigation and
the fertilization to be the segment consuming the most of the money, increase of 15% . There
was absolutely no expense reported by any farmer in the machinery segment, which proves the
low mechanisation in this crop system. There was increased consumption in the chemicals from
2018 to 2019 as seen here in the Table 12.
Table 12: Cost Assessment
Cost of Cultivation 2018 2019
(Rs./bigha) 5144.249639 5935.623611
Land Preparation 16.76707556 14.56364647
Crop Nursery 9.460211464 8.282379099
Fertilizer 21.89639738 19.95553085

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Chemicals 8.274660666 13.11839911
Irrigation 28.11449033 27.87659811
Labour 15.4871646 16.20344636
Machinery 0 0
Others 0 0
Cost of Harvesting 2018 2019
Rs./bigha 866.2398112 814.8413162

X) The average cost of harvesting per bigha is Rs. 840.54

Cost of Harvesting 2018 2019

Rs./bigha 866.2398112 814.8413162

Post harvesting process includes that they let the crop to dry in the field for 2-3 days and then
taking it off for distillation. This process helps to have better oil concentration due to the low
moisture content
Distillation is mainly being done in Pay-to-use distillation units, while few have distillation unit
of their own. The units are mostly available in the nearby areas of the field only
Mean distance(km) 1.69
Distillation Details Cash, Rs./10kg Kind,kg/10kg oil yield
37 9
Average Rate(2018) 825.77 0.625
Average Rate(2019) 959.90 0.670

Marketing Cost was nil (Unanimously), also they never experienced any problem during
marketing of the produce.

XI) Response regarding whether FPO was beneficial to them or not, was

No
Transaction
FPO intervention Yes No Not Sure in 2019
Is it better? 40 2 2 2

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 3. Conclusion
The present study explored the primary data to measure the impact of the intervention by
Technoserve India through their ‘Livelihoods and Market Access Program in Uttar Pradesh and
Andhra Pradesh’. Mentha has already been an important crop in the region, but Technoserve
brought in meaningful changes through Strengthening FPOs governance structures and
management systems by training the Board of Directors (BoDs), Training farmers in improved
agronomy practices and post-harvest management, Improving FPOs access to institutional
finance. 40 out of 46 farmers accepted that the intervention has brought in meaningful changes.
More than the quantitative development in one year, they are satisfied with the qualitative
changes with better market information, easy selling and reliable knowledge bank to bring in
instrumental changes. Small change in practices, like Digital Weighing Scale or Bank
Transaction, has helped build a transparency amongst them and these small changes helped build
a roadway for the future of the institutions based on trust among shareholders. The FPOs are
successful in developing a sense of belonging amidst the farmer which was evident throughout
the study. Although they are certainly satisfied with the setup but they do consider more models
to adapt like that of the mentha value chain. In the light of increasing number of organised retail,
the FPOs will truely be the driving force to secure the farmers with their collective efforts by
adapting to the necessary changes. To achieve that, they expect a reliable support and
programmes like these to upscale themselves.

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