Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmersโ Welfare, Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, today 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 FPOโHospitality & Farmersโ Benefit Summit 2025, organised by the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), he emphasized that direct FPOโhotel linkages would form a powerful win-win modelโboosting farmersโ 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 sectorโs rising demand for clean, safe, and sustainable food. He underscored that farmers continue to face an inverted pricing cycleโbuying inputs at retail prices but selling produce at wholesaleโan imbalance that can be corrected only through direct procurement partnerships with hotels.
Reiterating the Prime Ministerโs call for stronger agricultureโindustry 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 industryโcommunity integration.
Speaking at the Summit, Shri Suman Billa, Additional Secretary & Director General, Ministry of Tourism, said India needs a fast-tracked, structured farmerโhotel partnership architecture. Such a model, he noted, would accelerate the Governmentโs vision while uplifting rural livelihoods and strengthening tourism-driven value chains.
FHRAI President Shri Surendra Kumar Jaiswal reaffirmed the readiness of hotels to procure directly from FPOsโprovided supply is consistent and quality-assured.
Mr. 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:
Ms. Asha Sota (MoAFW),
Shri Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya (Ekgaon Group),
Shri ย Kirti Prasanna Mishra (Ecociate Consultants),
Shri ย Ashwni Kumar Goela (Radisson Hotel Group),
Ms. Meena Bhatia (Le Meridien, New Delhi),
And Chef ย Davinder Kumar and Chef Rakesh Sethi.
This framework marks one of Indiaโs first aligned, multi-stakeholder national blueprints for integrating farmers with the hospitality supply chain.
A major highlight of the Summit was FHRAIโs curated exhibition featuring 50 FPOs from 17 states, showcasing an extensive range of regional and GI-tagged products โ including yellow tea, Kashmiri mamra almonds, Himalayan saffron, makhana, black turmeric, forest honey, katarni rice, and Kandhamalhaldi. The exhibition demonstrated Indiaโs agricultural diversity and offered FPOs unprecedented visibility into institutional market requirements.
