Kerala-based start-up Farmers FZ is chosen for the FAO’s Accelerator Programme

Farmers FZ bridges the gap between rural farmers and urban consumers by providing vegetables from fields to the table.

ByPTI

Published Jun 08, 2023 | 12:35 PMUpdatedJun 08, 2023 | 12:35 PM

Farmers FZ

Kerala’s Farmers FZ (Farmers Fresh Zone) has been selected for its Accelerator Programme by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Farmer FZ is on a list of 12 agri-food start-ups from around the world for the UN body to develop business.

The Kochi-based multichannel marketplace platform functions under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM). Farmers FZ is one of India’s two start-ups to qualify for the Accelerator Programme, which ultimately aims to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Pradeep PS, CEO of the 2016-founded Agri Tech D2C, will attend the pertinent UN function in Rome next month, a statement in Kochi said.

The start-up won FAO recognition for its Sustainable Way of Doing Business model. It is low on carbon emissions and does not waste food by implementing the principle of Farm to Fork as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), promoting regional production and consumption, it said.

According to Pradeep, the UN programme will enable Farmers FZ to present its model before countries across continents.

“The model would require alterations based on the nature of the markets in each economy. For that, we need funds, which will come through the Accelerator,” he noted.

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The UN had earlier considered Farmers FZ for the world body’s SEED Low Carbon Awards.

Farmers FZ, which bridges 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. It onnects more than three lakh consumers and 2,000-plus farmers in Kerala, the statement added.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

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