Walmart Foundation’s $1.5-million grant to support resilient agriculture in UP, Karnataka
SM Sehgal Foundation has announced the extension of its project ‘Bolstering Farmer Producer Organizations’ in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. Initiated in 2023 for two years with a philanthropic grant of $1.5 million from the Walmart Foundation, this next phase will reach 23 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) with 23,000 members with an aim to enhance the capacities of FPOs, promote climate-resilient practices and develop infrastructure that adds value to crop production.
“We are excited to support SM Sehgal Foundation for the second phase of the ‘Bolstering FPOs project. We believe strengthening FPOs can enable more opportunities for smallholder farmers in India with capacity building at the core. Additionally, developing transparent structures, designing and implementing business models and establishing collaborations will help ensure more sustainable operations and outcomes,” Julie Gehrki, chief operating officer, Walmart Foundation, said in a statement.
Initial phase
The initial phase of the ‘Bolstering Farmer Producer Organizations’ project spanned from 2021 to 2023 and impacted 10 FPOs, strengthened 8,000 existing members, added 2,000 new members and ensured one-third representation of women in leadership roles. Approximately 2,500 women gained essential knowledge and skills development, with 40-45 per cent actively participating in project activities at the FPO level. The project’s reach extended to over 30,000 beneficiaries. Key interventions included strengthening institutional and governance structures in FPOs, imparting knowledge on agronomic practices and farm technologies, livelihood opportunities, fostering business development, marketing, enhancing value addition, promoting digitisation, facilitating financial inclusion and convergence with government programmes.
The forthcoming phase aims to build upon this foundation, with a strategic focus on preparing these FPOs for market engagement through a series of targeted initiatives. This will involve advanced training and support, ensuring the FPOs are not only self-sufficient but also market-ready and equipped to meet the dynamic demands of the agricultural sector.
It is strategically designed to further strengthen FPOs to take the lead in working towards a resilient and prosperous agricultural sector. The emphasis will be on creating opportunities for smallholder farmers, with a focus on women producers. S M Sehgal Foundation strengthened its collaboration with FPOs in the districts of Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), and Kolar (Karnataka), during the first phase, thereby paving way for the second phase of the project.
“Organising smallholder farmers into FPOs can leverage the advantage farmers have in emerging markets. It can also help mitigate challenges faced by individual farmers, such as low market prices, high input costs and limited access to technologies and markets, among others. With support from the Walmart Foundation, the S M Sehgal Foundation continues to build the capacities of FPO members. The first phase witnessed a turnaround in women’s participation with 92 women-led Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) benefiting more than 2,500 women farmers actively engaged in FPOs,” Anjali Makhija, trustee and chief executive officer, S M Sehgal Foundation, said.