Forge long-term partnerships with FPOs, Agri Secy tells hospitality sector
Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare
The hospitality industry should forge direct, structured, and long-term partnerships with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), said Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, calling such collaborations indispensable for ensuring consistent access to high-quality agricultural produce.
Addressing the FPO–Hospitality & Farmers’ Benefit Summit 2025, organised by the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), on Monday, Chaturvedi emphasised that direct FPO–hotel linkages would form a powerful win-win model—boosting farmers’ incomes while enabling hotels to source premium, chemical-free ingredients
India now hosts nearly 40,000 FPOs, many offering produce that aligns with the hospitality sector’s rising demand for clean, safe, and sustainable food. However, farmers continue to face an inverted pricing cycle—buying inputs at retail prices but selling produce at wholesale—an imbalance that can be corrected only through direct procurement partnerships with hotels, he said.
Reiterating the Prime Minister’s call for stronger agriculture–industry collaborations, he noted that such partnerships would reduce middlemen, secure supply chains, raise farmer profitability, and enable the hospitality sector to expand GDP contribution and employment.
Speaking at the Summit, Suman Billa, Additional Secretary & Director General, Ministry of Tourism, said India needs a fast-tracked, structured farmer–hotel partnership architecture. Such a model will accelerate the government’s vision while uplifting rural livelihoods and strengthening tourism-driven value chains.
India’s first
According to a release by FHRAI, this framework marks one of India’s first aligned, multi-stakeholder national blueprints for integrating farmers with the hospitality supply chain.
An exhibition was also conducted during the summit, featuring 50 FPOs from 17 States, showcasing an extensive range of regional and GI-tagged products — including yellow tea, Kashmiri mamra almonds, Himalayan saffron, makhana, black turmeric, forest honey, katarni rice and Kandhamal haldi.
Published on November 25, 2025
