Hotel, industry and farmer partnerships critical for mutual growth: Dr Devesh Chaturvedi

New Delhi: Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, has urged the hospitality industry to forge direct, structured, and long-term partnerships with Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), 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), he emphasized that direct FPO–hotel linkages would form a powerful win-win model—boosting farmers’ incomes while enabling hotels to source premium, largely chemical-free ingredients.

Dr. Chaturvedi highlighted that India now hosts nearly 40,000 FPOs, many offering produce that naturally aligns with the hospitality sector’s rising demand for clean, safe, and sustainable food. He underscored that 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.

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.

He added that the Government is promoting organic farming, GI-tagged products, and responsible tourism, citing the Kumarakom Model in Kerala as a benchmark for sustainable industry–community integration.

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, he noted, would accelerate the Government’s vision while uplifting rural livelihoods and strengthening tourism-driven value chains.

FHRAI President Surendra Kumar Jaiswal reaffirmed the readiness of hotels to procure directly from FPOs—provided supply is consistent and quality-assured.

M. P. Bezbaruah, Secretary-General, HAI, reiterated the long-standing demand for granting infrastructure status to hotels to unlock broader development opportunities.

Industry leaders including Mr. Rahool Macarius (Wyndham Hotels & Resorts), Mr. Vishvapreet Singh Cheema (Lemon Tree Hotels), and Ms. Ankita Jaiswal (HRANI & UPHRA) also shared insights during the inaugural session.

The technical session moderated by food writer Shri Sourish Bhattacharyya delivered a clear operational blueprint for implementing a national farm-to-hospitality supply chain.

Key contributors during the Technical session included Asha Sota (MoAFW), Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya (Ekgaon Group), Kirti Prasanna Mishra (Ecociate Consultants), Ashwni Kumar Goela (Radisson Hotel Group), Meena Bhatia (Le Meridien, New Delhi), and Chef Davinder Kumar and Chef Rakesh Sethi.

This framework marks one of India’s first aligned, multi-stakeholder national blueprints for integrating farmers with the hospitality supply chain.

A major highlight of the Summit was FHRAI’s curated exhibition 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 Kandhamalhaldi. The exhibition demonstrated India’s agricultural diversity and offered FPOs unprecedented visibility into institutional market requirements.