Sitapur, March 12, 2018: WM India Technical and Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd., wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc, has announced the launch of ‘Sunhara Prayas’, a farmer market readiness project, in the district here on Friday.
Aimed at enhancing the income of more than 500 farmers engaged in mango and banana cultivation, the project is being implemented in partnership with the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP). Of the total numbers, 25 per cent would be women farmers and farm workers.
ISAP has started working with mango and banana farmers to implement Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), besides setting-up customised and modern post-harvest interventions and supply chain solutions to reduce wastage.
The aim of this programme is to strengthen farmers’ capability for sustainable agriculture process and make the farming community adopt best practices for better yield and return. In partnership with input companies, local experts and specialised institutes, ISAP will provide standardised training to strengthen the farmers’ capacity.
Special training will also be conducted to impart knowledge to farmers about production of export quality mango and banana and enable them to grow high quality produce and increase productivity to ensure better price realisation.
Announcing the launch at a function here on Friday, Director of WM India Technical and Consulting Services Pvt Ltd Rajneesh Kumar, said, ‘Walmart is committed to improving the livelihoods of small and medium-sized farmers in growing economies and creating shared value. Through our ‘Sunhara Prayas’ project, we hope to make a difference to the lives of several mango and banana farmers including women farmers and farm workers, their families and communities at large.’
‘We are excited to partner with the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) for this project. ISAP has a track record in ensuring food security and rural economic development and we are of the firm view that together we can help unlock the potential of farmer livelihoods for generations through targeted interventions for economic, social and environmental sustainability,’ Mr Kumar said.
Mr Sudarshan Suryawanshi, CEO ISAP, said, ‘We are delighted to partner with WM India Technical and Consulting Services Pvt Ltd in this project for mango and banana farmers in Sitapur district. This project is aimed at removing systemic barriers that prevent these farmers from increasing their productivity and market access. We will train the farmers, build support systems, introduce safe ripening methods and include some alternate livelihood training for women farmers and farm workers.’
In November last year, Walmart Foundation gave a grant of close to USD 2 million to Agribusiness
Systems International (ASI) to implement a Farmer Market Readiness Project in Andhra Pradesh.
UNI
