Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, has urged the Indian hospitality industry to forge direct, structured, and long-term partnerships with Farmer Producer Organisations (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), Chaturvedi said that direct FPO-hotel linkages represent a win-win model that can significantly boost farmers’ incomes while enabling hotels to source premium, largely chemical-free ingredients.
He reiterated that India now has nearly 40,000 FPOs, many of which offer produce that aligns naturally with the hospitality sector’s growing demand for clean, safe, and sustainable food. Pointing to the persistent inverted pricing cycle – where farmers purchase inputs at retail prices but sell their produce at wholesale rates – he emphasised that direct procurement by hotels can help correct this imbalance.
Reiterating the Prime Minister’s call for stronger agriculture–industry collaboration, Chaturvedi noted that such partnerships would require middlemen, secure supply chains, raise farmer profitability, and enable the hospitality sector to increase its contribution to GDP and employment generation. He also referenced the government’s push for organic farming, GI-tagged products, and responsible tourism, citing Kerala’s Kumarakom model as a benchmark for sustainable industry-community integration.
Speaking at the summit, Mr. Suman Billa, Additional Secretary & Director General, Ministry of Tourism, emphasised the need for a fast-tracked and structured national framework for farmer–hotel partnerships. “Such a model would accelerate the government’s vision, uplift rural livelihoods, and strengthen tourism-driven value chains,” he said.
Mr. Surendran Kumar Jaiswal, President, FHRAI, reaffirmed that hotels are ready to procure directly from the FPOs, provided the supply is consistent and quality assured. Mr. M.P. Bezbaruah, Secretary General, Hotel Association of India (HAI), reiterated the industry’s long-standing demand for granting infrastructure status to hotels to unlock broader development opportunities. Industry leaders, including Mr. Rahool Macarius of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Mr. Vishvapreet Singh Cheema of Lemon Tree Hotels, Mr. Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar 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. Girish Oberoi expressed gratitude to Chief Guest Shri Chaturvedi for his policy direction and to Guest of Honour, Mr. Billa, for reinforcing the tourism sector’s commitment to rural linkages. He offered special acknowledgement to Ms. Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, whose strategic guidance and cross-ministerial coordination shaped the summit’s theme and made the collaboration possible.
A focused technical session moderated by food writer Mr. Sourish Bhattacharya delivered a clear operational blueprint for implementing a national farm-to-hospitality supply chain. Key contributors included Ms. Asha Sota of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Mr. Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya of Ekgaon Group, Mr. Kirti Prasanna Mishra of Ecociate Consultants, Mr. Ashwni Kumar Goela of Radisson Hotel Group, Ms. Meena Bhatia of Le Meridien New Delhi, Chef Davinder Kumar, and Chef Rakesh Sethi. The resulting framework is one of India’s first aligned, multi-stakeholder national blueprints for integrating farmers directly with the hospitality supply chain.