Walmart Foundation President visits Barabanki, meets farmers

Lucknow, Aug 28 () Walmart Foundation President Kathleen McLaughlin visited Rariya and Bilouli Maharaj villages in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday and interacted with farmers and leaders of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).

These farmers are part of a project supported by Walmart Foundation and managed and implemented by TechnoServe, for which the Walmart Foundation announced a USD 3.5 million grant (approximately Rs 25.2 crore) to help create more sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

TechnoServe will help build capability of smallholders in these FPOs by promoting sustainable agriculture practices, improving post-harvest and storage systems, and providing market access for smallholders, a press release issued on behalf of the foundation said.

"This grant extends Walmart Foundation's efforts to improve market access for smallholder farmers in India, with the aim of increasing their income while also contributing to a stronger and more sustainable agricultural sector in the country," Kathleen McLaughlin, who is also EVP, Chief Sustainability Officer of Walmart said.

Walmart Foundation has also announced a USD 1.3 million grant to Digital Green, an organization that seeks to provide data such as weather forecasts, market pricing, and growing advice to farmers directly on mobile devices.

These grants are part of Walmart Foundation's five-year, USD 25 million (approximately Rs 180 crore) commitment to improve smallholder farmer livelihoods in India.

Walmart has also committed itself to source up to 25 per cent of its produce for the best price cash and carry format from local smallholders. SMI RVK