The program brings together 54 FPOs & 15 Agri corporates for capacity building and field support
54 Farmer Producer Organizations representing 44,000 farmers across 6 states in India and 15 leading agribusiness corporations came together for Samvad for Safalta – Conversations towards inclusive agribusiness.
As a part of a COVID resilience initiative, ARYA has implemented a comprehensive program aimed at capacity building and field support to 54 FPOs from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Funded by CDC Plus (the CDC Group’s technical assistance program) and supported by Omnivore, Members of these FPOs have undergone a detailed program designed by Arya for readiness to undertake post-harvest interventions as part of Omnivore and CDC’s Technical assistance program.
Harsh Bhanwala, Ex-Chairman, NABARD emphasised that FPOs enable access to all these and can alleviate the status of smallholder farmers. He added that private participation is a key to providing farmers with technology interventions, access to trading platforms, value chain & storage innovations, advisory services, mechanized services.”
15 large private companies and 54 FPOs interested in value chains of Grains, Pulses, and Spices interacted extensively. FPOs and corporates shared their interest in partnering for more inclusive value chains. Expression of interest was obtained for about 600 tonnes of purchase of commodities, even in the first virtual interaction. During the interactions between agribusiness corporates and FPOs, various challenges such as quality parameters, and gradation of commodity and storage were discussed. The discussion brought out the necessity for a package of practices that could help FPOs align their production to market requirements.
Rajesh Sharma from Reliance Retail said, “These practices would improve focus on quality output, improve their productivity and ensure better returns for the commodity.”
Sarah Marchand, Director, CDC Plus said, “ We are very pleased to have supported this initiative and that Omnivore and Arya share our vision of integrating farmers and FPOs into the agribusiness value chain and forging ahead with an inclusive sector.”
“Omnivore has always worked towards encouraging new technology in Agriculture and ensuring it reaches farmers on the ground level for their economic growth. We have great hope that with the coming together of farmer organizations and corporate houses a lot of solutions can be developed and we will continue to work towards Impact,” mentioned Subhadeep Sanyal from Omnivore.
