Walmart reinforces commitment to support India's smallholder farmers

Walmart International President and CEO Judith McKenna Friday reiterated the company's commitment to support India's smallholder farmers as she discussed steps suppliers can take to enter supply chains of global companies.

During a visit to Bichpuri village in Agra, McKenna spent time to meet and interact with farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) where she reiterated Walmart's commitment, the US-based retail major said in a statement.

McKenna took the opportunity to reinforce the commitment to support India's smallholder farmers through investments from the Walmart Foundation and by sourcing 25 per cent of all fresh produce in 'Best Price Stores' directly from farmers and FPOs, it said.

She also met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss local sourcing norms for the domestic market.

She discussed local sourcing and boosting sales of 'Made in India' products, which will benefit local businesses and the overall domestic market.

The meeting assumes significance as the government in the Union Budget proposed measures to relax these norms for foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail.

Walmart runs 25 cash-and-carry stores in wholesale-format in the country.

McKenna also expressed Walmart's commitment to supporting 'Make in India' by sourcing domestically.

Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar were also present during the meeting with farmers.

Walmart has acquired e-commerce platform Flipkart along with Myntra and PhonePe.