NEW DELHI: The Foundation today announced $4.8 million (approximately Rs 34 crore) in grants to digital green and to enable programs that help smallholder have access to agriculture technology, training on sustainable farmer methods, enhanced access to formal markets, and skill and capacity building for farmer producer organizations ( ). These grants are a part of the Walmart Foundation’s commitment made in September 2018 to contribute $25 million (approximately Rs 180 crore) over the next five years to improve farmer livelihoods in India. Separate from this commitment, Walmart India also announced it would grow its direct sourcing from farmers to 25 percent of produce sold in its Cash & Carry stores by 2023. With today’s announcement, the Walmart Foundation has contributed over $10 million (approximately Rs 71 crore) toward its $25 million goal. These grants are expected to create impact to more than 81,000 farmers, including more than 29,030 women farmers (many of whom are organized into FPOs) in the states of , and Uttar Pradesh. “Today’s grant announcement builds upon the Walmart Foundation’s efforts to increase economic opportunity for smallholder farmers and their families while promoting sustainable farming practices and the empowerment and inclusion of women,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president, Walmart Foundation and EVP, chief sustainability officer of Walmart. “The work being accomplished by our grantees and their partners is inspiring. We hope the Walmart Foundation’s commitment, alongside the work of Walmart and Walmart India’s direct farm sourcing teams, will help drive real momentum in sustainable agriculture development in India and we encourage others to join us in our commitment.” The Walmart Foundation’s grant of $1.3 million (approximately Rs 9 crore) to the Digital Green will help develop ‘Farmstack’, a digital data platform designed to provide better services for and enhance the livelihoods of Andhra Pradesh farmers, specifically targeting lower-income communities in farmer producer organizations. "The Walmart Foundation's support furthers our mission of using digital tools to amplify the impact for smallholder farmers, who are the backbone of India's agri-economy. We're grateful for the opportunity to work with smallholder farmers in improving their own livelihoods and those of others in their community, in a manner that’s nutrition-sensitive, climate-resilient, and inclusive," Vinay Kumar, Managing Director, Asia, Digital Green said. TechnoServe will use its $3.5 million grant (approximately Rs 25.2 crore) to help develop and train up to 20 FPOs and facilitate market linkages by setting up procurement and aggregation systems. The program will also focus on training women smallholders to help expand their market options, as well as extend support to smallholder farmers on sustainable agriculture practices. With this funding, TechnoServe aims to boost incomes for 25,000 farmers (50% of whom will be women). "Increasing farmer incomes is a powerful call to action. Sustainable agricultural practices, market linkages, and effective management at the FPO level can boost smallholder farmers’ inclusion, incomes, and livelihoods across India. With the support of the Walmart Foundation, we look forward to building on our decade-long experience creating lasting change in the country’s agricultural sector,” said William Warshauer, CEO of TechnoServe. Today’s announcements were made at the ‘Strengthening Agri Systems: Road to supporting smallholder farmers and boosting incomes’ Summit,’ which was jointly organized by Walmart.org and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi.
Digital Green will provide $1.3m in grants to development organization Digital Green and non-profit TechnoServe to help small farmers in Walmart India access agricultural technology, training on sustainable farming, and formal markets. The $1.3m grant for Digital Green will help with the creation of digital data platform “ Farmstack ”. TechnoServe will use some of its $3.5m to boost incomes for women farmers. Walmart India also announced that it would increase its direct sourcing from farmers to 50% of produce sold in its The Walmart Foundation stores by 2023 .