Sahyadri Farms bags Rs 310 Cr from European investors

 Company plans to expand its processing capacity for fruits and vegetables-based products, set up a biomass plant to generate electricity from process waste.

First Farmer-led Company in India, Sahyadri Farms Post Harvest Care Limited has raised Rs 310 crore (almost EUR 40 million) growth capital from a group of impact-focused investor, Incofin, Korys, FMO and Proparco. Sahyadri Farms is well-placed to help farmers run their businesses in a more profitable and sustainable way. Alpen Capital acted as exclusive strategic advisor to Sahyadri Farms for this transaction.

The capital received from Korys, FMO, Proparco and Incofin is intended to further grow the farmer’s company. Sahyadri Farms plans to expand its processing capacity for fruits and vegetables-based products, set up a biomass plant to generate electricity from process waste and enhance its infrastructure, like packhouses.

Sahyadri Farms is a good example of rural entrepreneurship providing end to end solutions to small and marginal farmers.  In 2010 a group of 10 farmers took the initiative to collectively produce and export fresh grapes to Europe. That initiative has grown into the leading fruits and vegetable export and processing company that Sahyadri Farms is today, servicing over 18,000 farmers, covering more than 31,000 acres and 9 crops. The company walks with its farmers from their choice of crops to the farming practices they employ, from the inputs they use to how they harvest and sell their agricultural products.

“The idea of Sahyadri Farms is to unite farmers and make them think like professional entrepreneurs. We are building a sustainable, scalable, and profitable organization for all our stakeholders by making farming profitable and viable activity for each small and marginal farmer”, said Vilas Shinde, founding farmer and Managing Director of Sahyadri Farms.

Rahul Rai, Partner at Incofin India commented that, “Incofin feels privileged to lead this investor consortium and its partnership with Sahyadri Farms to support its spread as a global role model of a partnership-based approach to farming that results in sustainable financial impact, climate change adaptation and inclusive growth in rural communities while creating a technology-driven, globally competitive business.”

Michael Jongeneel, CEO of FMO said, “We expect this first international equity investment in a farmer-led organization in India to help Sahyadri Farms reach even more farmers and set a blueprint for further growth in the industry.’’

Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco said, ” This investment in a leading Indian agricultural company committed to a responsible approach will generate many positive social and environmental impacts.  Sahyadri Farms will be able to implement concrete measures to adapt to climate change, but also to mitigate it by increasing its share of renewable energy production to more than 50 per cent, and finally, to implement its zero-waste policy”.

“We are very excited to be a shareholder of Sahyadri Farms as it has a sustainable Business model with an emphasis both on consciousness towards the farmers’ community and on the environment. Their journey revolves around an inspiring story of a farmer turned entrepreneur who established a state-of-the-art infrastructure with a vision to transform traditional Indian farming”, said Hari Subramanian, Partner Korys India.

 Company plans to expand its processing capacity