Hotel, Industry and Farmers Partnerships is Critical for Mutual Growth: Agriculture Secretary
Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri 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 FPO–Hospitality & Farmers’ Benefit Summit 2025, organised by the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), he emphasized that direct FPO–hotel linkages would form a powerful win-win model—boosting farmers’ incomes while enabling hotels to source premium, largely chemical-free ingredients.
Mr. Chaturvedi highlighted that India now hosts nearly 40,000 FPOs, many offering produce that naturally aligns with the hospitality sector’s rising demand for clean, safe, and sustainable food. He underscored that farmers continue to face an inverted pricing cycle—buying inputs at retail prices but selling produce at wholesale—an imbalance that can be corrected only through direct procurement partnerships with hotels.
Reiterating the Prime Minister’s call for stronger agriculture–industry 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 industry–community integration.
Speaking at the Summit, Mr. Suman Billa, Additional Secretary & Director General, Ministry of Tourism, said India needs a fast-tracked, structured farmer–hotel partnership architecture. Such a model, he noted, would accelerate the Government’s vision while uplifting rural livelihoods and strengthening tourism-driven value chains.
FHRAI President Mr. Surendra Kumar Jaiswal reaffirmed the readiness of hotels to procure directly from FPOs—provided 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.
Delivering the Vote of Thanks on behalf of FHRAI and HRANI, Mr. Garish Oberoi expressed gratitude to Chief Guest Shri Devesh Chaturvedi for his policy direction and to Guest of Honour Shri Suman Billa for reinforcing the tourism sector’s commitment to rural linkages.
He offered a special acknowledgment to Ms. Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, whose strategic guidance, conceptual leadership, and cross-ministerial coordination shaped the Summit’s theme and made the collaboration possible.
He thanked distinguished guests
•Mr. M. P. Bezbaruah, Secretary-General, HAI
•Mr. Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels
•Mr. Vishvapreet Singh Cheema, President, Lemon Tree Hotels
• Mr. Rahool Macarius, Market Managing Director – Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
He also extended appreciation to Mr. Surendra Kumar Jaiswal, President FHRAI, and Ms. Ankita Jaiswal, Chairperson, Sustainable & Responsible Tourism (HRANI & UPHRA), for their leadership in bringing stakeholders together.
He thanked all ministries, FPO representatives, panellists, hospitality leaders, media, and the Le Meridien team for their support and participation. A focused technical session moderated by food writer Mr. Sourish Bhattacharyya delivered a clear operational blueprint for implementing a national farm-to-hospitality supply chain.
Key contributors included
Ms. Asha Sota (MoAFW),
Mr. Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya (Ekgaon Group),
Mr. Kirti Prasanna Mishra (Ecociate Consultants),
Mr. Ashwni Kumar Goela (Radisson Hotel Group),
Ms. Meena Bhatia (Le Meridien, New Delhi),
Chef Davinder Kumar and Chef Rakesh Sethi.
This framework marks one of India’s first aligned, multi-stakeholder national blueprints for integrating farmers with the hospitality supply chain.
A major highlight of the Summit was FHRAI’s curated exhibition featuring 50 FPOs from 17 states, showcasing an extensive range of regional and GI-tagged products — including yellow tea, Kashmiri mamra almonds, Himalayan saffron, makhana, black turmeric, forest honey, katarni rice, and Kandhamal haldi. The exhibition demonstrated India’s agricultural diversity and offered FPOs unprecedented visibility into institutional market requirements.
