Farmers Fresh Zone (FarmersFZ) has been selected for an accelerator programme of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The Kochi-based multichannel marketplace platform, which functions under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), figures on a list of 12 agri-food start-ups across the world for the FAO to develop business. It is one of India’s two start-ups to qualify for the accelerator programme that aims to attain the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
Pradeep P.S., chief executive officer of AgriTech D2C, will attend the U.N. function in Rome next month.
The start-up won the FAO recognition for its sustainable business model, which is low on carbon emissions, does not waste food by implementing the principle of farm-to-fork, and promotes regional production and consumption.
The U.N. programme will enable FarmersFZ to present its model before countries across the world. “The model will require alterations based on the nature of market in each economy. For that we need funds, which will come through the accelerator,” said Mr. Pradeep.
The U.N. had earlier considered FarmersFZ for the world body’s SEED Low Carbon Awards.
FarmersFZ claims to bridge the gap between rural farmers and urban consumers by providing healthy, premium-quality and pesticide-free vegetables from fields to the table within 24 hours of harvest and connects more than three lakh consumers and 2,000-plus farmers in Kerala.
