VIJAYAWADA: Through the ‘farm to family’ programme, a pilot initiative to provide a market to mango growers in Andhra Pradesh during the Covid-19 lockdown, about 3 metric tonnes of mangoes were sold in various gated communities in Hyderabad. About 350 farmers from a farmer producers organisation (FPO) were able to sell three metric tonnes of mangoes and have already received bookings for another 10 metric tonnes through this initiative.
The initiative, aimed at easing the supply chain bottlenecks, was launched on April 12 under the Andhra Pradesh Irrigation and Livelihood Improvement Project (phase-2) by a team of officials and consultants from Ernst and Young. They partnered with Reddygudem Mandal Farmers Producers Company Limited to market their produce to improve their livelihood. Mangoes are procured from farmers and supplied directly to the consumers in a few select townships and gated communities in Hyderabad based on consolidated demand placed by gated communities.
Ernst and Young’s manager Bharat Thota and senior consultant Bhojraju said that the pilot initiative was launched on April 12 in three gated communities and so far, 3 MT of mangoes have already been sold and another 10 MT have been pre-booked from more than 12 gated communities in Hyderabad. The project is likely to be continued even after lockdown as it brings the farmers and consumers closer to each other.
The initiative was taken as a part of AP Irrigation and Livelihood Improvement Project (Phase 2), a project financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and implemented by state water resources, horticulture, AP Food Processing Society and other allied departments. The objective of the project is to increase the local productivity and enhance marketing capacity by rehabilitating existing irrigation systems and supporting integrated farming systems within Farmer Producers Organisation (FPO) structure.
More takers in Hyderabad
3 metric tonnes of mangoes were sold in various gated communities in Hyderabad
10 MTs
have been pre-booked from more than 12 gated communities in Hyderabad
Initiative, aimed at easing the supply chain bottlenecks, was launched on April 12