The big opportunity in the farm sector is beckoning corporates as never before. With agriculture still accounting for nearly one-fourth of the economy, top corporates like Reliance, Mahindra, ITC and the Bharti group are ramping up their operations in procuring, marketing and exporting of fruits and vegetables.

The retail revolution and a host of sops for the food processing sector in the last Union Budget are prompting others to look at this sector as a potential business opportunity. Despite lack of adequate infrastructure like cold storages and road connectivity, one could see big corporates buying apples in Himachal Pradhesh, grapes in Nashik, oranges in Nagpur and mangoes in Ratnagiri.

FieldFresh, a joint venture between the Bharti group and Rothschild, plans to export 4,000 metric tonnes of fresh fruits in the next few months. It aims to increase the export tonnage by around 5 folds in the next 2 years. With a 3-year plan, the company aims to bring 50,000 acres of land under cultivation across the country. Not only that, FieldFresh is planning to raise its investments from $50 million to $100 million over the next five years. Seeing the benefits, some of the retail companies are looking at possibility of direct procurement of fruits and vegetables from farmers across various states.

“Vegetables are also being procured through the contract farming route from Uttranchal and Western parts of the country. FieldFresh is following the partnership model for sourcing fruits in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The company has established informal linkages with small and large farmers to source the produce,” said a company spokesperson in Delhi. The JV is also planning a strong supply chain by building modern pack houses, cold storage facilities, the company said.

... contd.