Flipkart Kirana, Spices Board join hands to train spice cultivators

For spice growers, there is some good news. Under the mentorship of the Spices Board of India and Flipkart Kirana, they will be assisted in the procurement of spices and getting access to the pan-India market.

E-commerce giant Flipkart, in association with the Spices Board of India under the Ministry of Commerce, has launched a nationwide training programme for spice farmers in the country.

The programme will begin with representatives of 100 farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in Kerala and Tamil Nadu’s Idukki district.

The training programme will later cover small and marginal farmers from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

The agreement was signed as part of Flipkart’s Samarth programme, which aims to empower MSMEs, artisans, entrepreneurs, and rural seller and farmer communities selling products associated with rich cultural heritage through Flipkart’s e-commerce platform.

Through the Samarth programme, efforts will be made to drive inclusive and sustainable business growth for small and marginal spice growers. The Flipkart platform will serve as a trading platform for farmers to sell their wares on a digital marketplace.

Walmart-backed Flipkart said the programme would cover multiple production aspects, including improved harvesting techniques, warehousing and maintenance, quality control, packaging and even logistics.

According to a statement from India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, the procurement of indigenous spices and condiments, including ginger, garlic, cardamom, vanilla, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, tea and coffee, will ensure access to quality staples on the platform.

Through a Terms of Understanding (ToU), the partnership will help sustain the passion for Indian spices and farmers by also bringing online Kashmiri saffron, honey, and Lakadong turmeric, to name a few.

The Spices Board is an international link between Indian exporters and importers abroad and has been spearheading activities for the excellence of Indian spices, involving every segment of the industry.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the spices export from India has continued its upward trend during 2020-21 and has attained an all-time high of $4bn mark for the first time in the history of spices export. During 2021-22, the export of spices/spice products from the country was 15,31,154 tonnes valued at Rs 30,576 crore ($4102.29mn).

Leveraging its technology expertise, Flipkart will handhold the farmers in their digital journey. The training will additionally aid the growth of farming communities by providing an inclusive and sustainable platform.

Flipkart continues to strengthen its commitment towards building the local economy through meaningful partnerships. Under the FPO initiative, the collaboration with the Spices Board of India will enable Flipkart Grocery to continue providing on-ground and virtual training, while helping with capacity-building programmes, to reinforce the production of quality produce across India.

Smriti Ravichandran, Vice President and Grocery Head, Flipkart, said, “Our dedicated efforts towards creating meaningful opportunities for MSMEs and the farmer community in the country will be further strengthened with the introduction of capacity building training. Furthering our commitment, the collaboration with the Spices Board of India in Kerala will enable easy access to high-quality regional staples for consumers as well as accelerate the growth of the farmer community by unlocking greater market opportunities for them.”

“To ensure inclusivity of the digital transformation for farmers from Tier-II and beyond, we will continue to handhold them in their journey by replicating this initiative pan India.”

Flipkart continues to fortify its aim to impact thousands of livelihoods of the farmer community through strategic collaboration with FPOs, and small and marginal farmers across states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. The platform will ensure touching more lives and creating a greater impact in the MSME ecosystem.

“The partnership will enable pan-India market access for farmers and grassroots organizations working in the spices sector while further augmenting our commitment to the social and economic development of our stakeholders,” said Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group. “As a homegrown company, we want to use the benefits of e-commerce to unlock the potential of local farmer communities and contribute to their growth and livelihood. This collaboration will help to strengthen this vision.”

Flipkart Grocery currently serves more than 1,800 cities and 10,000 PIN code areas across all 28 Indian states. It has ramped up its operations in the past two years by establishing 28 fulfilment centres, which cover an area of 27 lakh square feet, to meet the fast-growing nationwide demand for online groceries.

The Flipkart Group is one of India’s leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+, and Cleartrip.

Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India's digital commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of more than 400mn, offering over 150mn products across 80+ categories.

Flipkart has also collaborated with a number of FPOs to improve access to local staples and increase income for farmer communities on its platform. Flipkart Samarth is a national initiative that aims to assist skilled artisan communities in establishing their businesses on the Flipkart Marketplace in a timely, transparent and cost-effective manner.

The programme was launched in 2019 as a sustainable and inclusive platform that provides new growth opportunities and better livelihoods to underserved indigenous communities and businesses.

(Subhashis Mittra is a New Delhi-based senior journalist, freelance writer and public policy analyst.)