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Monday / December 9. 2024
HomePosts Tagged "Farmer Producer Company"

 Covering over 1,000-acre pilot plots across Maharashtra, MP, Karnataka, & Gujarat.

In a significant move Wavar, a pioneering Agritech startup has extended its innovative Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions to more than 50 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), covering over 1,000-acre pilot plots across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Karnataka, and Gujarat, further strengthening its foothold in the sector.

Wavar’s approach goes beyond traditional pest management by offering a complete IPM implementation model tailored to the unique needs of FPOs, providing flexible and crop-specific solutions. The company’s per-acre IPM service has been instrumental in helping FPOs build sustainable farming businesses, reduce input costs, and improve crop quality. This partnership ensures that FPO members can not only grow low-residue crops that meet stringent European Union quality standards but also enhance their profitability by reducing the cost of cultivation and tapping into higher-value markets.

Through this collaboration, Wavar is playing a crucial role in revolutionizing how FPOs manage their pest control strategies while contributing to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural ecosystem. By enabling the production of cleaner, low-residue crops, Wavar is helping FPOs fetch premium prices for their produce, opening doors to export markets and improving business margins.

Speaking about Wavar’s mission, Sanjay Shirodkar, Co-Founder of Wavar said, “FPOs are integral to the growth of Indian agriculture, and we are proud to partner with them to drive sustainable, low-residue farming. Our goal is to provide FPOs with the tools they need to succeed in today’s competitive market while ensuring that farmers benefit from reduced input costs and higher-quality produce. We believe this partnership will have a lasting impact on Indian agriculture, helping farmers achieve both profitability and sustainability.”

Wavar’s partnerships with FPOs have already yielded impressive results. By reducing reliance on chemical pesticides through IPM, farmers have been able to cut their production costs significantly while improving the health of their soils and the quality of their crops. As the company continues to expand its presence in new states, Wavar remains committed to delivering innovative, sustainable pest management solutions that align with the changing landscape of modern agriculture.

Wavar’s journey has only just begun, but its vision for the future of Indian agriculture is clear to empower FPOs with the knowledge and tools they need to transition to a more sustainable, profitable model of farming that benefits farmers, consumers, and the environment alike.

 

 Covering over 1,000-acre pilot plots across Maharashtra,

By becoming IndG.A.P certified, FPOs can demonstrate their commitment to producing safe and high-quality products, which can increase their marketability and access to better-paying markets.

Sri Rapthadu Mandala Raithu Utpatti Darula MACS Limited, a farmer producer company in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, supported by Samunnati and eFresh, received IndG.A.P certification for foxtail millet. This feat by a farmer producer company in India assumes great importance particularly, in this International Year of Millets (IYoM 2023), under the ambitious “Make in India” initiative by the Government to ensure Indian millets have access to global markets. 

Commending the FPC on receiving the certification, Anil Kumar SG, Founder & CEO, Samunnati said “Adoption of GAP verified by a robust certification will enhance value realization by farmers and make India globally competitive in agri exports. This is why Samunnati spearheaded the promotion of IndG.A.P standards with eFresh, an expert body on global food safety standards .This achievement needs to reach all the FPOs across India covering all major crops and commodities. It is heartening to see our efforts are bearing fruits and paving the way to make India the “Millet bowl of the world” in the near future, facilitate export and increase income to the farmers.”

Murali, CEO of Action Fraternity, that supported the FPC for obtaining the certification mentioned, “We feel very happy and privileged to get the IndGAP certification as we aspire to become one of the reliable and reputed suppliers of millets to the global markets. We are grateful to Samunnati and eFresh Agribusiness Solutions for their enormous all-round support and to the Government for taking proactive efforts to create more markets for Indian millets globally under the International Year of Millets 2023 initiative.”

Despite being one of the largest producers of millets in the world, India exported millet products worth USD 34.32 million during the fiscal year 2021-22, which is relatively small. With growing global demand for healthy and sustainable food options, there is potential for India to increase its exports of millet products in the coming years. To achieve this, the Indian Government under the flagship initiative IYoM 2023 aims to promote the production, processing, and marketing of millets both domestically and internationally.

Commenting on the occasion, Srihari Kotela, Managing Director, eFresh Agri Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, said “It gives us great satisfaction to see the first Farmer Producer Company in India getting certified to IndG.A.P for foxtail millet production conforming to international Standard ISO 17065. This is a great step in the right direction to facilitate increased exports and enhanced income, particularly, for millet farmers, majority of whom are smallholders.”

Certification schemes like IndG.A.P are designed to help Indian farmers and exporters meet global food safety standards, which is essential for accessing global markets. IndG.A.P certification is recognized as a credible and reliable certification program in India, and it is currently being benchmarked against global standards like GlobalG.A.P to further enhance its recognition and credibility in the international market covering 120 countries.

By obtaining IndG.A.P certification, Indian farmers and exporters can demonstrate their compliance with international food safety standards, which can help to increase their access to global markets. IndGAP certification also provides a framework for continuous improvement in farming practices, which can help to improve the quality and safety of agricultural produce over time and will strive towards UN Sustained Development Goals.

“We aim to get at least 100 FPOs certified under IndG.A.P in the near future. By becoming IndG.A.P certified, FPOs can demonstrate their commitment to producing safe and high-quality products, which can increase their marketability and access to better-paying markets. Samunnati continues to engage with the FPOs providing holistic support to make them commercially viable.” added Anil.

By becoming IndG.A.P certified, FPOs can demonstrate

IRRI’s technical assistance to the project includes the introduction of climate-smart technologies such as MTR.

World Bank Regional Integration and Engagement in the South Asia Region (SAR) Director Cecile Fruman visited Assam to get a firsthand understanding and appreciation of IRRI’s work on the World Bank-funded Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART).

APART aims to add value and improve the resilience of selected agriculture value chains and is focused on smallholder farmers and agri-entrepreneurs from targeted districts in the state. IRRI’s technical assistance to the project includes the introduction of climate-smart technologies such as MTR.

Fruman was pleased to see the community coming together to form a Farmer Producer Company (FPC) and benefiting from the project through stronger market linkages and the introduction of new stress-tolerant rice varieties and farm-based mechanisation technologies. She met and visited the field of Usha Nath, an exemplary farmer beneficiary under IRRI-APART. Nath contributes extensively to the family income by running her own vermicompost unit and establishing different livestock enterprises. She has adopted a fully mechanised way of farming in her field and advocates for others in her community to follow suit. Nath demonstrated the operation of a mechanical transplanter in her field and shared its benefits with Fruman and the rest of the team.

Fruman stressed the importance of community-driven development and the involvement of women farmers as key drivers of true progress.

IRRI’s technical assistance to the project includes