The Chief Minister emphasised that the YSR awards are a testament to the former Chief Minister’s unwavering commitment to the State’s culture and pride.
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ANANTAPUR, India, Aug. 10, 2022: Strengthening its efforts to enhance livelihoods of farmer producers, Walmart Foundation and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT), today announced the launch of a Secondary Processing Unit (SPU) at Muddalapuram village in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The facility was inaugurated today by the Minister for Agriculture & Cooperation, Marketing, Food Processing, Government of Andhra Pradesh Shri Kakani Govardhan Reddy. This unit will support farmers from the district with new livelihood and market access opportunities through value-added groundnut, millet, and other nutritious products.
ICRISAT has been working along with its project implementation partner, Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre (AFEC), to accelerate Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and smallholder member-farmers benefits, through interventions at various levels in the agricultural value chain. These efforts are in line with ICRISAT’s aim to turn dryland farming into a profitable enterprise through improved crop practices, post-harvest management and new food processing opportunities for smallholder farmers.
The SPU launched today is expected to benefit over 6,000 smallholder farmers in Anantapur district. The facility which has a built-up area of 1,000 square metres, is operated by women-led Rythu Nestham Food Producer Company Ltd (RNFPCL). RNFPCL was established with support from ICRISAT and AFEC and formed by including farmers from nine FPOs across the eight mandals of Anantapur district. The facility is equipped with five processing lines, which will produce highly nutritious millet and pulse based ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat formulations such as traditional khichdi and upma mixes, high oleic groundnut products – nutrition bars (chikki), cookies, snacks and savouries, and healthy cold pressed groundnut oil.
Walmart Foundation has a long-term commitment to support FPO’s capacity building and farmer livelihoods by enhancing yields which is achieved through improved farm practices, formal markets linkages, and overall support for FPOs in their sustainability journeys. The grant to ICRISAT aligns well with this mission and focus.
While launching the facility, Shri Kakani Govardhan Reddy, Minister for Agriculture & Cooperation, Marketing, Food Processing, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said, “Our government has prioritized making agriculture more viable and profitable for farming communities and has introduced key initiatives such as the development of community-managed sustainable farming initiatives. This women-led food processing unit will boost sustainable farming and market access for local agricultural communities, provide employment to women and youth and create new opportunities for community-managed industry through the development of more food processing units. We congratulate Walmart Foundation, Flipkart, ICRISAT and AFEC on this initiative, and look forward to more such collaborations in the future.”
Ms. Nagalakshmi.S. IAS, Collector and District Magistrate Ananthapuramu, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said, “The entire infrastructure of the unit will ensure improved livelihoods and better opportunities for smallholder farmers. We congratulate Walmart Foundation, ICRISAT, AFEC and Flipkart on the launch of this SPU in the district that will bring synergy between agriculture and food processing industry.”
Julie Gehrki, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Walmart Foundation, said, “We are constantly looking for ways to empower our communities. Walmart Foundation’s grant to ICRISAT aims to better support farmers’ incomes while strengthening and diversifying the services of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to deliver benefits to their members. It aligns well with our efforts in India to provide grant support to programs expected to benefit and improve livelihoods by enhancing opportunities for smallholder farmers in the country.”
Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Flipkart, said, “Beyond Walmart Foundation’s philanthropic programs in India, Flipkart’s association with FPOs will deepen our commitment to creating shared value across our supply chain and communities, including creating newer avenues toward increasing farmer incomes and helping expand the reach of their products to consumers nationwide. As we continue to engage with diverse stakeholders to enable transformational development work for society and the economy, Flipkart is committed to continue strengthening our partnerships with a wider set of FPOs in the state of Andhra Pradesh to expand access to e-commerce.”
Dr Jaqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT said, “ICRISAT fosters entrepreneurship by opening new avenues for dryland farmers, particularly women. In partnership with the Walmart Foundation, ICRISAT is helping small-holder farming communities in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh to adopt sustainable farming practices. This will help them move out of subsistence farming to produce surpluses that can be sold in markets, paving the way for prosperity in the drylands. This processing unit, approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), will provide employment, reduce food wastages and promote food & nutritional security, for the smallholder farmers. It will empower farmers from remote geographies to access fair commodity value chains and improve livelihoods”.
Dr. Y.V. Malla Reddy, Director, Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre (AFEC) said, “The successful establishment of the secondary processing unit compliments our efforts towards ensuring sustainable livelihoods of the drought affected farming communities in Anantapur through introduction of climate resilient cropping systems such as intercropping and mixed cropping, where the risk of drought is minimised and further facilitates market access”.
About philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. By focusing where the business has unique strengths, Walmart.org works to tackle key social and environmental issues and collaborate with others to spark long-lasting systemic change. Walmart has stores in 24 countries, employs more than 2.2 million associates and does business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. Walmart.org is helping people live better by supporting programs to accelerate upward job mobility for frontline workers, advance equity, address hunger, build inclusive economic opportunity for people in supply chains, protect and restore nature, reduce waste and emissions, and build strong communities where Walmart operates. To learn more, visit www.walmart.org or connect on Twitter @Walmartorg.
About the Flipkart Group
The Flipkart Group is one of India’s leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+ and Cleartrip. The Group is also a majority shareholder in PhonePe, one of the leading Payments Apps in India. Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India’s digital commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of more than 400 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Our efforts to democratize commerce in India, drive access and affordability, delight customers, create lakhs of jobs in the ecosystem, and empower generations of entrepreneurs and MSMEs have inspired us to innovate on many industry firsts. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns – customer-centric innovations have made online shopping more accessible and affordable for millions of Indians. Together with its group companies, Flipkart is committed to transforming commerce in India through technology.
For more information, please write to media@flipkart.com
About ICRISAT
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a pioneering, international scientific research for development organization, specializing in improving dryland farming and agri-food systems. The Institute was established in 1972, by a consortium led by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundation and with support from the Government of India. ICRISAT works with global partners to develop innovative science-backed solutions to overcoming hunger, malnutrition, poverty and environmental degradation on behalf of the 2.1 billion people who reside in the drylands of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
On 21-04-2020, AF team distributed ration and face masks to 29 members(Bachelors) in Anantapur town. Originally they are belongs to Gorakhpur, Jolar districts Uttar Pradesh and Bihar States. They are wage workers (Painting, Gujari and ice cream business), they don’t have Govt. ration card. Due to lockdown they are unable to work outside. AF provided 1 month Ration kit (Rice, Wheat, Dal, Oil, sugar, salt, soaps etc ) to them. Mr. Murali Krishna and Mr. Shaiksha Vali, AF team members has been participated in this distribution process
AF team reached to the Tea stall seller’s ( 4 Bachelors) who migrated from Jalor, Rajasthan and staying here at Kadiri Road, Dharmavaram Mandal.
Assessed their need in presence of central team member then delivered Ration and other necessary logistics, which can be utilise for more than 3 weeks.
Also distributed the masks to each one besides make them aware about the Preventive ways to curb the spread of Pendemic Carona
