Desai Fruits and Vegetables (DFV), a Gujarat based contract farming company, is celebrating its 20th anniversary as India's leading supplier of quality bananas. With a volume of more than 80,000 MT and total exports of over 2,500 containers in FY20, the company has retained the title of 'Banana King' over the years.
Left: Ajit Desai, founder and director; right: Marco Klinge, CEO DFV.
Witnessing two decades of growth, the company also announced its new strategy to become a vertically integrated fruit company with full traceability of its products for end-consumers. To ensure end-to-end control of the entire supply chain and ensure that products arrive in the best quality at the doorstep of the customers in India and export markets, the company is investing in technology, logistics, and infrastructure assets. To improve quality and production economics, the company is also rolling out a highly inclusive 'partnership farming model' with fully controlled production hubs introducing state of the art farming methods and providing educational and financial services to the surrounding farming community combined with secured off-take for their produce. This model will contribute to uplifting the rural community cluster by cluster.
"We plan to reinforce infrastructure considerably. We will invest in pack-houses for processing & packaging of fresh produce and build state-of-the-art ripening chambers to provide safe and hygienic fresh produce for consumption," Ajit added.
On its anniversary, the company also announced its strategy to strengthen its multi-fruit model backed by a robust supply chain and distribution network. The company will continue focusing on bananas and expand further into a wide range of tropical and other fruits.
Marco Klinge, Chief Executive Officer at DFV said, "We are working closely with the farmer community to improve quality and increase farmers' livelihoods. The company's unique and socially responsible 'partnership farming model' ensures controlled production to provide consistent volume and quality. This model will be expanded to a wider range of fruits in the future. Today we are associated with more than 3,000 farmers spread across villages in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, providing DFV with a strong base and a harvesting potential of more than 100,000 MT per annum. DFV has long-established links with farmers and is the benchmark for sustainable and socially responsible contract farming, offering a win-win situation for individual and small farmers.”
For more information: 
Savita Gupta
Tel: +91 (9619198839
Email: savita.gupta@pioneering-ventures.com