Gujarat government plans to tie-up with Amazon Fresh for horticulture produce

According to him, not only Amazon Fresh, the state government is open for other such platforms to provide larger platforms to farmers for their agriculture produce.

The Gujarat government is in the process for a strategic tie-up with multinational giant Amazon Fresh to ensure higher prices to horticulturists by giving them a platform to sell their produce in larger cities.

Sources in the state agriculture department said that the idea is to create a nationwide supply chain for vegetables and fruit growers of Gujarat through platforms like Amazon Fresh. It would be a win-win situation for farmers and companies who want to buy quality horticulture products from Gujarat, said an official with the state agriculture department.

According to him, not only Amazon Fresh, the state government is open for other such platforms to provide larger platforms to farmers for their agriculture produce. If everything goes right, Gujarat’s horticulturist would start selling their produce across the country by Diwali this year, he claimed.

When contacted, Manish Bhardwaj, secretary Agriculture, Farmers Welfare & Co-operation department, confirmed about the tie-up, saying that the state government would play the role of facilitator and become a bridge between companies and farmers.

“We will promote formation of Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) in the areas where quality vegetables and fruits are being grown. Through such FPOs, large quantities of horticulture produce will be procured and sold to companies which are selling such products in bigger cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, etc through online platforms,” said Bhardwaj.

He added that such tie-ups would ensure higher prices for their quality produce. In case of bumper crops of certain horticulture produce, the growers will get good prices and options to sell their produce other than APMCs. Such tie-up would also save farmers money being spent on logistics as they would purchase horticulture produce from farmers’ doorsteps.

In North Gujarat, a couple of FPOs are active in the marketing of pomegranate, he said, adding, “Gujarat is producing quality dates, sapota (chikoo), banana, mangoes and vegetables. The state government wants formation of FPOs across the state to ensure healthy prices of horticulture produce by creating a wider market. They would only get good prices, if their produce would be sold in metro cities.”