New Delhi, 6th March, 2026

The Vrihi Foundation, with the support of The Asia Foundation, and in partnership with ekgaon Technologies Private Limited, has launched a project to develop a first-of-its-kind operational framework to support India’s heritage and GI-tagged agricultural products. Titled ‘Promoting Heritage Agriculture through a Tech-Enabled Pathway for Livelihood Upgradation’, the initiative seeks to enhance an understanding of these crops both among policymakers and consumers. The inception meeting of the project was held at the India International Centre on March 6, in the presence of distinguished guests, field experts and policymakers.

Though India’s agricultural diversity spans 15 agro-climatic zones, much of this produce is absent from domestic and global markets. In 2024–25 alone, about 82 percent of India’s agricultural exports came from just five commodities, depriving many farmers of access to wider markets.

The initiative brings together policymakers, researchers, producer organisations, and market actors to the same table, and looks to strengthen value chains — from policy and post-harvest practices to expanding markets and global acceptance. The initiative is designed to improve livelihoods for farmers cultivating heritage crops, enhance visibility and understanding of India’s agricultural heritage, and support sustainable production practices while opening pathways to wider markets.

The initial focus of this initiative is on four commodities: turmeric, mahua, jamun, and galgal. Based on regional consultations and stakeholder interviews, the project will develop actionable recommendations for mapping supply chains, identifying logistical needs, and supporting interventions to enhance these crops.

“We believe India’s most unique produce have not got their due, yet. These commodities need a unique and holistic approach that combine sustainable production practices; protection through IP laws and storytelling that connects with both domestic and global audiences. ” said Om Routray, Founder of Vrihi Foundation.

Two outcomes of the project will be a national playbook, which will offer guidance on realising the potential of heritage agriculture, and commodity-specific studies and action plans that map the agri-food landscape, identify possible products and markets, and recommend interventions involving farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and self-help groups (SHGs).

Speaking on the occasion, Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya, CEO & Co-founder, ekgaon Group, said : “India’s agricultural heritage is 5,000 years old and has been core to its civilisational values. ‘Heritage food’ from across regions offer an opportunity to build farmers’ livelihoods, if only frameworks of policy, finance and markets work in enabling the value chains.

“We are concerned about disappearance of certain production from the mainstream. And, then there is the issue of unethical commercialisation of GI tagged products by other regions or countries. For example, lakadong farmers benefitted very little from the global popularity of the commodity,” said Nandita Baruah, Country Representative, India, The Asia Foundation.

 

About Vrihi Foundation

Vrihi Foundation is an agri-food thinktank looking to fill the critical gap in food knowledge space. Indian food culture, consumption, trade and diplomacy need strategic intervention and that is what the foundation aims to achieve.

Media contact:
Om Routray

Founder – Director, Vrihi Foundation

Email: om@indianculinaryagenda.org
Phone: 9818836401

At Indian Culinary Agenda, we started with the goal of connecting Indian agriculture and food sectors. And, now we are bridging these two set sectors with hospitality. We believe there is a need to analyse Indian states in terms of their strengths in these sectors and develop a plan that combines them in unique ways.

Uttarakhand has emerged as a natural leader in hospitality. We are working to develop a program to bridge this leading Indian ecosystem with a global leader in hospitality – Thailand. For this we are bringing together the Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University and Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

In a landmark move to strengthen international ties within the service sector, under the leadership of Prof. Tripta Thakur, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) (VMSBUTU) , members from Indian Culinary Agenda Om Routray, Tanushree Bhowmik, and Uttarakhand Hospitality Institutes Officals, Dr. Shiv Mohan, Ihm Himgiri- Institute of Hotel Management Dehradun, Mr. Manish Bhardwaj, KIHM, Dehradun and Mr. D.S. Martoliya, GIHM, Almora, the meeting was convened & coordinated by Dr. Shilpi, Faculty, VMSBUTU on January 20, 2026.

The meeting served as a strategic platform to bridge the gap between two of the world’s most renowned hospitality ecosystems. The primary focus of the summit was to foster bilateral cooperation in creating sustainable employment opportunities and advancing women’s empowerment within the industry.

Key Objectives of the Meeting

The delegation discussed a comprehensive roadmap to integrate the strengths of Indian and Thai culinary traditions with modern hospitality management. Key highlights included:

• Bilateral Employment Pipelines: Establishing streamlined pathways for hospitality professionals to share expertise and access job markets in both India and Thailand.

• Women’s Empowerment Initiatives: Developing specialized training programs and leadership workshops designed to elevate the role of women in professional kitchens and hotel management.

• Curriculum Integration: Exploring ways to align and integrate international internships and global exposure in hospitality education under VMSBUTU with international standards, particularly focusing on the “AIT” (Asian Institute of Technology) framework.

• Fostering a Global Ecosystem – The hospitality sectors of India and Thailand are global benchmarks for service excellence. By aligning these two powerhouses, ICA seeks to create a robust network that not only boosts the economy but also promotes cultural exchange through the culinary arts especially focusing more on upliftment of women in hospitality sector.

“This meeting aimed at initiating a discussing and proposed the beginning of a transformative era where the synergy between India and Thailand will set new standards for hospitality education and gender inclusivity,” stated a representative from the hospitality board.

Public infrastructure is never just about the infrastructure. It is an approach that assesses the citizens’ requirement to live a certain life and provides the infrastructure to make that possible. It is also a philosophy. It informs what you consider necessary and what gets higher priority etc.

In Indian agriculture, this is a debate that has been ongoing for a while. How much should we spend on subsidies; how critical are loan waivers to farmers’ survival; what sort market linkage mechanisms should we invest in etc. The issues are complex and need deeper deliberation than what this post can cover. However, there are models or solutions for parts elsewhere that can be emulated.
Last month, we visited farmers’ markets in three cities of Bhutan – Paro, Punakha and Thimphu. While the one in Paro was well laid out and neat, the ones in Thimphu and Punakha deserve special mention.

The farmers market in Thimphu is a massive two storey building. It was brightly and tastefully lit in the evening. The top floor looked so posh from afar that we thought it must be a party place or a cafe. But it was a The Centenary Farmers Market. Absolutely clean, spacious, and laid out in neat grids with proper signages, it was a joy to just walk around. There were rows of stands with local rice varieties, rows of fresh produce in the back and then an entire section on cheese and dairy. In the rear of the produce zone, there was a food court. It was run by volunteers skilled under the government’s skilling program – De-suung.

The one in Paro was even more impressive. It was a large open area next to the river. A massive parking area with chalked out slots. Inside, each farmer’s station had an electricity connection, some had refrigerators. There was a canopied food court, again run by the skilled volunteers. At the back, right on the bank of the river was a cafe and a bar run by women, again volunteers skilled under the De-suung program. We sat there late at night; the three women who ran the bar did not seem concerned about their safety.

We could see the river, the bar and the market from our room. We sat there watching cars pull in and out from 6 in the morning till 9 in the night. Good infrastructure creates and supports an entire ecosystem. In Paro, the farmers market was the beating heart of the city.

In India, when we say farm infrastructure, we mostly mean production related infrastructure. When it comes to post-harvest, especially in urban or semi-urban areas, farm related infrastructure rarely makes it into the city planning. Our weekend fresh produce markets are, usually, a road that is closed off or just trespassed on.

Here are a few outcomes of this sort of planning.

1. One of the outcomes of this is as the farmer is rendered powerless once the produce is harvested. He/she is either disenfranchised from the value chain or is made a part only in informal, unstructured ways.

2. Agriculture, as a sector, is alienated from the consumer’s mind. While they care about the produce and will pay a premium for it, the farmer no longer has a role to play in this consumer ecosystem. His/her place is taken by hyperlocal deliveries and others.

3. It is proven that urban planning and designing of spaces affects and shapes people’s behaviour. By providing spaces for certain activities, you encourage and enable certain interactions. There is a need to make the people behind the produce visible; to acknowledge their struggles and to reward their efforts. There is no better way than to designate respectable spaces to them in our cities.

4. What comes with farmers is the understanding of what is seasonal; the logic behind seasonal price fluctuation of certain commodities and a peak into what climate is doing to our production systems and the people involved in it. Market linkage is not just a logistical issue, it is one of philosophy and one of sustainability across all its implied meanings.

5. There is an urgent need in how our understanding of farm infrastructure must change; how our agricultural budget and expenses must change; how should the demands, experiences and outlook of the consumers change and how should our urban spaces change. And, it can all begin with putting the producer at the center of our consumption ecosystem.

We are hoping to bring together policy makers, city planners and other stakeholders together to hold such discussions and contribute towards any small change that can be implemented on the ground.
If you have any thoughts or idea on farmers markets or want to write about ones that you have experienced, please write to us at connect@indianculinaryagenda.org