Mahindra’s Agri Business invests in MeraKisan – an Agri e-commerce start-up

Pune September 28, 2016: Mahindra Univeg Pvt. Ltd., a 60:40 joint venture between Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. and Univeg (Greenyard Foods), today announced a minority shareholding in MeraKisan Pvt. Ltd.

MeraKisan’s unique business model augments disintermediation at various levels in the fruits and vegetables delivery value chain, directly benefitting the farmer and the end consumer.

MeraKisan Pvt. Ltd. shall operate in sourcing fruits, vegetables and other agricultural produce directly from farmers and sell to customers, facilitated by a digital technology platform namely www.shopping.merakisan.com.

Prashanth Patil from the founding family of MeraKisan is now the majority stakeholder of MeraKisan Pvt Ltd and will be the CEO of the company, responsible for running its operations.

Speaking on the tie-up, Ashok Sharma, MD & CEO- Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. said, “Given our Rise philosophy of Driving Positive Change, we at Mahindra Agri are alwaysworking towards impacting the lives of farmers. Our investment in MeraKisan will enable the farmers and the consumers to connect digitally and create a win-win. “

He also added, “We are strongly committed towards our vision of Sustainability and delivering FarmTech Properity, and our investment in this venture is yet another proof of our commitment. We believe that the MeraKisan team is fully aligned with our vision.”

Prashanth Patil, CEO-Designate of MeraKisan Pvt. Ltd. said, “It is a matter of pride for me to be associated with a farmer-centric organisation like Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. This coming  together is significant as we share a common goal of impacting the lives of the Indian farmer. Leveraging our digital platform, MeraKisan Pvt. Ltd. will ensure delivery of high quality fruits & vegetables at the door step of the consumer. I am sure that this initiative will be a trendsetter in creating value for the Indian farming community.”

With a vision to Deliver FarmTech Prosperity, Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. closely interacts with farmers to improve their produce, quality and productivity by providing latest advances in farm technologies and agricultural know how. It also helps farmers by linking them to the market to provide better returns for their quality produce and thereby improving their lives. With its wide portfolio of inputs viz. Seeds, Crop Care, Micro Irrigation Services backed by high quality advisory through Samriddhi outlets, Mahindra Agri Business has successfully helped Indian farmers increase their productivity over the years. At the same time, it has a strong outputs business consisting of Fruits and Vegetables, Pulses, Edible Oils and Dairy where again close links with the farmers allow it to provide products that stand for quality and purity. Having grown more than 11 fold in the last 5 years, Mahindra Agribusiness has become one of India’s largest grape exporter, launched its premium fresh fruit and dairy brand Saboro, and established ‘Farm to Fork’ presence across the Agri value chain. It has also ventured into branded pulses and oils segment with NuPro with the promise of highest quality backed by the Mahindra Quality Standard. It also hosts the pioneering Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Awards, which celebrated its sixth edition and has attracted close to 200000 agricultural innovations and success stories till date.

Mahindra Univeg Pvt. Ltd. (MUPL) is a 60:40 joint venture between Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. and Belgium based Univeg (Greenyard Foods). MUPL focuses on developing fresh fruit supply chain in India and imports fruits to make high quality produce available to domestic consumers.