Farmer producers organisations (FPOs) in general and those working in the area of horticultural produce in particular have done well in supplying produce to organised retail and export players. But it is time they shift their focus to the consumer side of the business by working on brand-building, and gaining the trust of consumers by focussing on issues like traceability and quality.

“Our horticultural produce has come of age and emerged as a promising export contributor within the agricultural industry over the last decade. But its potential remains under-realised due to fragmented supply chains, brand invisibility, and limited consumer trust,” Rajendra Srivastava, Professor of Marketing Strategy and Innovation at the Indian School of Business, has said.

Addressing a daylong conference on ‘Building a global farmer-led brand in horticulture: Strategies for scale, trust, and market leadership on Monday, he cited the examples of Sahyadri Farms, a Maharashtra-based FPO, and Amul. He said that they proved that collective strength and professional governance can transform farm-gate economics.

“There is a need to develop 500 collectives like Sahyadri Farms in India to graduate agriculture and allied sectors to the next level,” Srivastava, who is also the Executive Director of the ISB Centre for Business Innovation (ISB-CBI), said.

Experts from FPOs and other ecosystem partners took part in the deliberations on how to make the country transition from a commodity-based horticultural produce exporter to a value-added brand by leveraging its vast agricultural diversity and unique Geographical Indication (GI) tags. The conversation flagged critical systemic challenges, including around supply chain and quality. 

Vilas Shinde, Chief Executive Officer of Sahyadri Farms, felt that the horticulture sector should be given industry status to tap the potential in the processing and export sectors. He said the FPO, which has over 50,000 farmer members, would work on consolidating its position over the next two decades, by chalking out marketing strategies for brand building.

Himanshu Pathak, Director General, International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), advocated that building scale, trust, and market leadership were essential for brand building.

About 70 delegates from the office bearers of FPOs, agri-businesses, policy makers and distinguished academicians participated in the programme. 

During the conference, a case study on Sahyadri Farms – A report on Farm-led Agri-business Transformation – was released. It was prepared by the ISB-CBI.

Published on May 5, 2026