FMO, the Netherlands’ development finance company, plans to invest €7.50 million ($8.29 million, or Rs 59.62 crore at current exchange rates) in Sahyadri Farmers Producer Co. Ltd.
“This financing is expected to give a boost to the agriculture and food processing operations of Sahyadri and reduce wastages and spoilage,” FMO said in a disclosure.
FMO said the proposed investment will help Sahyadri finance the construction of collection centres for the warehousing and transport of produce. The capital will also help with financing distribution centres with cold storage facilities and a fleet of refrigerated trucks for managing logistics and transport, it added.
The farmer producer organisation will also use the funding to set up retail stores in parts of Mumbai, Pune and Nashik, as well as the expansion of its existing production plant.
Maharashtra-based Sahyadri was established in 2000. The company procures, processes and markets fruits and vegetables from its network of about 7,000 small and marginal farmers.
Its product portfolio includes fresh fruits like grapes, vegetables and processed foods such as aseptic pulps and frozen fruit pulps. Some of its products are exported to parts of Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia.
FMO finances projects through equity and debt investments in sectors such as agri-business, food and water, energy and financial institutions in under-served regions.
It is an active investor in the country. Last month, it proposed a $42 million (around Rs 290 crore) investment in social-impact investor and asset manager Aavishkaar Venture Management Services Pvt. Ltd.
In June, it announced plans to make a debt investment of $30 million (Rs 209 crore) in Kolkata-based Srei Equipment Finance Ltd, a wholly owned unit of Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd. That month, it also invested in Mumbai-based Nomisma Mobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd., which owns digital payments and loans platform Ftcash.
