Why do so many FPOs fail in the first few years and how do we avoid it?

Most FPO failures come down to a short list of repeating mistakes. 1) Registered for the grant, not for a business, so there is no real activity. 2) No working capital, members never put in enough share money and the FPO cannot buy or trade. 3) Weak or unpaid leadership, an honorary chairman who treats it as prestige instead of a paid accountable CEO. 4) Member apathy, members join but keep buying inputs and selling produce outside, so the FPO has no volume. 5) Bad credit decisions, giving inputs or money on credit to members and buyers and never recovering it. 6) Doing too many activities at once and mastering none. 7) Poor records, missed ROC/GST filings and no audited accounts, which then blocks loans and grants. 8) Over reliance on one buyer or one crop. To avoid it: start with one focused profitable activity, insist on member share capital and member usage, hire competent management, sell on cash or advance, keep clean books, and grow slowly on retained margin. An FPO that earns an honest small margin on every deal and that members actually use will survive; one run for the grant will not.