Kerala's Farmers FZ startup chosen for UN’s Accelerator Programme

Kochi: Kerala's Farmers Fresh Zone (FarmersFZ) has been selected for the Accelerator programme by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), figuring in a list of 12 agri-food startups around the world for the UN body to develop business.

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

Pradeep P S, who is CEO of the 2016-founded Agri Tech D2C, will attend the pertinent UN function in Rome next month, a statement said here.

The startup won FAO recognition for its Sustainable Way of Doing Business model, which is low on carbon emissions and does not waste food by implementing the principle of Farm to Fork as SaaS, 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.

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, connects 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.