Uttrakhand Apple farmer got ownership

Annamrit Farmers as Owners Foundation Uttrakhand, Fresh food Technology, India, New Delhi& Shri Jagdamba Samiti took an initiative to transform farmers into owners and given ownership to 100 apple farmers.

“Speaking on the same Mr. Laxmi Prakash Semwal Founder of ‘Annamrit Farmers as Owners’ said, It gives us immense pleasure to share that our endeavors in the path of building the eventual farmers owned Agri-value chain business through a socioeconomic organization & creating a win-win situation for all the stakeholders of this value chain have been successful at various levels. And, today we are celebrating this occasion and transferred the share certificates of Joint venture companies (Value chain level 1& 2) from investors to farmers’ organizations & social business promoting Indian Foundation formed for this purpose in the name & style of Annamrit farmers as an Owners foundation under “The Apple Project Uttrakhand”.

In 2007, various Farmer Development trusts of Uttrakhand collectivized the apple growers of different regions, who were facing the main problem of getting the best price of their produce. Shri Jagdamba Samiti & Fresh Food Technology, a Dutch Company with a family Foundation of Netherland, SHGW (social investor) came together to build a value chain for these apple growers and formulated as an Earn-out model which will eventually transfer the ownership of the value chain to the farmers. The profits of these JV companies have been distributed to farmers from time to time in terms of the Premium and the social investment has also been fully paid back through FFT India. Now it’s time to transfer the ownership to Indian Foundation & Farmers Trusts and this is a day of grand celebration. The success of the Earn– out model will be jointly hosted by us.

Mr. Vikas Khatri Advisor Yuva Foundation said, “In 2011 when we came to know about such initiative it was looking like a dream but now we realize that if you have a determination then everything is possible. Due to such imitative farmers are free from brokers and earning good from the fruit cultivated by them. Not only this today they are aware about the crop related diseases and the ways to make more cultivation. We appeal to the youth of country to participate in such programs so that our farmers can do well and our country may develop.”

For celebration of the same a two days share transfer event was organized on May 29 and 30 at Naugaon where ownership given to 100 farmers. During the event Mr. Vijaypal Singh Tomar, BJP Kisan Morcha, National President was the chief guest. Mr. Suresh Uniyal from Shri Jagdamba Samiti, Edwin Willemsen from Fresh Food technology, Mr. Arun Semwal from Himalayan Fresh, Mr. Walter from Netherland, Yuva Foundation Chairman Shantanu Gupta, Senior Horticulture Officer I.N. Sahay, Farmer Amar Singh Kafula, Smt. Anandi Rana, Anand Krishnan, Yuva Foundation Advisor Vikas Khatri, Praveen Singh, Pushkar Sharma along with a number of farmers from 9 villages were present to share their views.