Flipkart & FPOs Collaborate to Enhance Market Access for Farming Communities

Flipkart has expanded its collaborations with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to help agricultural communities gain market access and growth, as well as improve access to basics on the marketplace platform.

Through these partnerships, Flipkart has been able to obtain pulses, staples and entire spices and bring them into its marketplace so influencing thousands of farmer livelihoods. These innovative routes, made available by e-commerce and technology, have been able to enhance farmers' earnings and assist these communities' business growth.

"Over the past year, we have increased our focus on partnering with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and assisting these farming communities in scaling their offerings and benefiting from the power of e-commerce and technology today," said Smrithi Ravichandran, Flipkart's Vice President of Grocery.

Flipkart collaborates with organisations such as Aranyak Agri Producer Company Ltd. in Purnia, Bihar, Anchetty FPCL in Gulbarga, and Satya Sai Farmer Federation in Anantpur. Flipkart has also engaged with social sector groups such as Andhra Pradesh Mahila Abhivruddhi Society (APMAS), Dvara, Foundation for Rural Value Chain Development (FDRVC), Sahaja Aharam Producer Company (SAPCO), Sammunati, and Vrutti to support interactions with FPOs in their networks.

"Our committed initiatives include addressing access to high-quality staples, pulses and spices on our marketplace platform while providing expanded market opportunities to farmer communities across the country," Ravichandran added. "We want to continue establishing these deeper interactions that have a beneficial influence on the livelihoods and income of millions of farmers and underserved communities across the country."

Flipkart has been organizing FPO visits to its packaging and processing facilities (Regional Packaging Centers) across different areas to help them understand consumer expectations in terms of product quality and food safety in order to maintain high-quality standards on its marketplace platform. The quality team visits these FPOs on a regular basis, scheduling meetings with their representatives on food safety requirements and teaching them on Flipkart's product quality standards.

According to Alok De, CEO of the Foundation for Development of Rural Value Chains (FDRVC), the FDRVC, a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Rural Development and Tata Trusts, intends to empower women farmers to build effective market connections for both agricultural and non-farm goods.

"We are looking forward to a strong partnership with Flipkart in this endeavour to boost revenue creation for farmers while guaranteeing assurance of quality, timely delivery of goods, and remunerative pricing that will help increase consumer happiness," said Alok De.

Hadoti Mahila Kisan Producer Company Limited (HMKPCL), located in Baran, Rajasthan, just completed their first transaction on Flipkart for 'whole coriander.'

"This has built a lot of trust in this community, and we intend to bring more similar farmer producer associations under this project," Alok De added.