A new US$4m project plans to help 25,000 small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers, 20 per cent of them women, in Uttar Pradesh by linking them with market outlets.

Run by US firm Agribusiness Systems International (ASI), the three-year project will help the farmers meet specific marketing demands, and increase their competitiveness.

The project will increase awareness of post-harvest practices to meet market requirements and introduce more efficient and profitable marketing models using a variety of distribution channels.

According to ASI the goal of the project, which has been dubbed ‘Sunhara (prosperous) India', is to reduce poverty and increase food security in India's most populous state, Food and Beverage News reported.

"India's flourishing middle class has a growing appetite for higher-quality fresh produce and processed foods, demand that currently is out-pacing supply in urban areas," said ASI president Bill Polidoro.

"If we can increase the productivity and reach of small farmers in poor, rural communities of Uttar Pradesh, we can use the urban markets to create incentives for farmers, bolster livelihoods and cut hunger in a way that reaps benefits for years to come."

ASI's partners on the project will be the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) and BAIF Development Research Foundation, a non-profit organisation that focuses on the empowerment of India's rural poor and women.

Experts estimate that 6,000-10,000 new supermarkets and specialty fresh produce shops will be operating in the state within the next five to eight years, and the fear is that there won't be enough produce to keep the outlets stocked.

"The opportunity is tremendous, but unless agricultural production practices for our farmers in rural areas change drastically to answer to specific marketing demands, we will not be able to see sufficient improvements in the lives of these people," Sunhara director Alex Pavlovic said.

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