Walmart helps link 8 lakh producers to markets; farm groups sceptical
Context:
Walmart has created a network across nine States and over 500 Farmer Producer Organisations, giving them access to the market; but farmer lobbies swear by the mandi system and cooperatives are sceptical.
Details:
TechnoServe, Digital Green and PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action) are the NGOs working with farmers to resolve their problems and increase their production. All these NGOs are funded by the Walmart Foundation, its philanthropy arm.
The company has created a network that links farmers directly to the retail market.
This enhances its own capacity to enter India’s retail market if and when it is allowed to, tapping into retail industry.
At least 500 organisations with 8 lakh farmers, across nine States — Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh — are involved.
Non-profits that implement the progamme are working among small and marginal farmers cultivating coffee, cashew, mint, mangoes, vegetables, wheat, and millet.