Samunnati: new Community Member from India

GLOBALG.A.P. recently welcomed India-based Samunnati as a new Community Member. Samunnati provides financial and networking solutions for Indian agribusiness, with a special focus on India’s smallholder farms and farmer collectives.

Smallholder empowerment through aggregation, market linkage, and advisory services

Samunnati’s services include short and long-term loans, advisory and training services regarding crops, and market linkages to facilitate trade relationships between small producers and agricultural enterprises. The company bridges gaps across the diverse patchwork of players in Indian agriculture by bringing farmer producer organizations together to source agricultural inputs at lower bulk prices and by finding markets for smallholders’ products. Samunnati’s Aggregation, Market Linkage, and Advisory (AMLA) approach is improving market access for over 8 million farmers in India.

Anil Kumar S G, founder and CEO at Samunnati, believes access to international markets is an important factor in achieving Samunnati’s goal of bettering the livelihoods of India’s smallholder farmers. “By adopting GLOBALG.A.P. solutions, our homegrown food can comply with global standards and will be able to access newer global markets,” said Mr. Kumar. But that’s not the only benefit Samunnati sees in becoming a GLOBALG.A.P. Community Member.

“We see this as an important step in the right direction to promote sustainable farming practices focusing on major crops that are valuable to the nation,” continued Mr. Kumar. “[GLOBALG.A.P.’s farm assurance standards] also help in enhancing productivity and improved resource use efficiency, contributing towards sustainability.”

A valuable contributor to public consultation for IFA v6 for combinable crops

Samunnati’s admittance as a new Community Member comes at a fortuitous time, as GLOBALG.A.P. is in the public consultation stage for version 6 of the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard for combinable crops.

“We welcome Samunnati to our global community of members, as we have a shared belief in the benefits of global cooperation to enhance food security and the livelihoods of farming communities,” said Dr. Kristian Moeller, Managing Director at GLOBALG.A.P. “As such we are committed to supporting Samunnati in their timely efforts to bring the voices and expertise of Indian farmers to our table so we can receive their input on our current global consultation on the development of the new version of our IFA standard for crops such as cereals, pulses, and oilseeds.”

The second round of public consultation on IFA v6 for combinable crops will run from 3 April to 28 April of this year (the first round just wrapped up on 17 February). Click here to learn how you can participate in round two of the public consultation process.

Become a Community Member

GLOBALG.A.P. welcomes likeminded producers, retailers, and other stakeholders in the agriculture industry to become members of the GLOBALG.A.P. Community. Community Membership is a partnership that helps advance the principles of safe, socially and environmentally responsible farming practices around the globe through collaboration, exchange, and dialogue. Click here to find out more about joining the GLOBALG.A.P. Community.