New Delhi: The government has called for stronger direct linkages between the hospitality sector and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to ensure reliable access to high-quality produce while improving farm incomes.
At the FPO–Hospitality & Farmers’ Benefit Summit 2025 in New Delhi, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said hotels, restaurants, and farmer collectives must adopt structured, long-term procurement partnerships. Such arrangements, he said, would create “a powerful win-win model” by reducing middlemen, stabilising supply chains, and offering farmers fairer prices for their produce.
India now has nearly 40,000 FPOs, many of which naturally align with the hospitality industry’s growing demand for clean, chemical-free and sustainably sourced ingredients. Chaturvedi noted that farmers continue to face an “inverted price cycle,” buying inputs at retail prices but selling produce at wholesale rates. Direct sourcing by hotels, he said, could help correct this imbalance.
He also pointed to government efforts promoting organic cultivation, GI-tagged products and responsible tourism, highlighting Kerala’s Kumarakom Model as an example of successful community-industry integration.
Additional Secretary and Tourism Director General Suman Billa said India must build a fast-tracked and structured farmer–hotel partnership framework that can uplift rural livelihoods and strengthen tourism-linked value chains. FHRAI President Surendra Kumar Jaiswal said hotels are willing to procure directly from FPOs if quality and consistency are assured.
Participants including hotel industry leaders, supply-chain experts and representatives from farmer groups presented operational strategies during the technical session moderated by food writer Sourish Bhattacharyya. Speakers emphasised the need for predictable procurement processes, quality standards, and logistics support to scale such partnerships nationally.
The summit also featured an exhibition of 50 FPOs from 17 states, showcasing GI-tagged and regional products such as Kashmiri mamra almonds, Himalayan saffron, black turmeric, forest honey, makhana, katarni rice and yellow tea. The exhibition offered FPOs rare visibility into institutional market requirements and highlighted India’s agricultural diversity.
Organisers said the framework presented at the summit represents one of India’s first coordinated national blueprints to integrate farmers into the hospitality supply chain.
