Samunnati, one of India’s largest agri enterprises, successfully concluded its first edition of Lighthouse FPO conclave in Hyderabad on June 22 and 23, 2023. The two-day conclave themed around ‘Building a Resilient FPO Ecosystem’ was attended by 183 lighthouse FPOs from across the nation. The event was also joined by Sri Singireddy Niranjan Reddy Garu, Hon Minister of Agriculture, Government of Telangana addressed the audience in an insightful 60 mins session covering various key aspects like integrated farming, diversified crops, digital innovation, and market access.
The first edition of the annual conclave designed on the birth anniversary of the organization, was focused on exchanging ideas and discussing solutions related to scaling FPOs and making them commercially viable.. The event started with an inspiring welcome address by Anil SG, Founder, CEO Samunnati where he shared his experience of growing the organization and in turn enable empowerment for its associated FPOs. “On an aspirational note, we hope and pray that we come together every year for Samunnati’s conclave on June 23 and make this event a renowned platform for addressing FPO challenges, queries, and support requirement.”
The event ‘for the FPOs, and by the FPOs’ aims to create recognition for those making a positive, sustainable, and long-lasting impact on farmers’ livelihoods. The conclave will give a platform to the chosen FPOs to narrate their stories of struggles, success and share their learnings with the rest of the FPO ecosystem at large, inspire them to become thriving commercial enterprises and to directly benefit the farmers of India.
The conclave successfully hosted 4 panel discussion surfacing the two key focus areas for FPOs-access to financial services and marketplace. The key theme of “Addressing the ‘access to finance’ paradox”, “Opening FPO mindset to AgTech Innovations”, ‘Access to Markets – Opportunities & New developments’ and ‘Climate Smart Practices & Regenerative Agriculture’ was covered by imminent panelists from selected, thriving FPOs from across India. The event also showcased successful case studies and innovations from Plasma Waters, Garuda Aerospace, PayNearBy, and MCX.
‘State of Sector Report 2023 – Farmer Producer Organization in India’ published by NAFPO was also launched at the conclave by Shri Anish Kumar, Managing Director, Transforming Rural India Foundation bringing reliable data to infer critical touchpoints for the FPOs and allow them to pave the way to data-analysed farming in India.
The conclave hosted at Kanha Shantivanam, Hyderabad was graced with the presence of Sri Singireddy Niranjan Reddy Garu, Hon Minister of Agriculture, Government of Telangana who pertinaciously mentioned that “India needs integrated agriculture policy for the comprehensive development of the farmers and the nation.” “Agriculture, if done with the right support for farmers has the potential to lead the nation into better employment, lesser poverty and overall global growth, while giving back to the end contributors(farmers) and FPOs are increasingly rising up to do the same for them.” He added.
The two day event ignited a sense of pride and joy in support of the FPOs, joined by key agricultural representatives, experts, thought leaders, stakeholders that include, Tata Trusts, Reliance Foundation, Suguna Foods, MCX, Eplane, Axis Bank, Devidayal solar solutions Pvt Ltd, Flipkart, ADM, ICAR – ATARI, MANAGE, RICH, WOTR, APMAS, Adani Wilmar, Fertis India Pvt Ltd, Krishikalpa, Villgro, WRI India, Ecozen Solutions, Hydrogreens Agri Solutions, IFHD, CEEW, TRIF, Catalysts, Sehgal Foundation, Roquette, Agrilife India Pvt Ltd, and many more.
