PepsiCo to scale Assam potato sourcing to 30,000 tonnes in 2027, target 5,000 farmers

PepsiCo India and South Asia CEO Jagrut Kotecha said the company plans to significantly expand its potato sourcing ecosystem in Assam, with procurement expected to rise from around 7,000 tonnes this year to 30,000 tonnes in 2027 and eventually 55,000–60,000 tonnes over the next three to five years.

Speaking at the inauguration of PepsiCo's first manufacturing plant in the Northeast at Banekuchi in Nalbari, Kotecha said the company was looking beyond manufacturing and working to build a wider ecosystem involving farmers, local entrepreneurs, vendors and rural communities.

"This is our first plant in the Northeast and we are very proud of how this plant has been set up," Kotecha said, thanking the Assam government, Nalbari administration and other stakeholders for facilitating the project.

The plant currently employs around 700 people, of whom 75 per cent are women, according to Kotecha. He said nearly 120 women working at the facility were trained for 12 weeks at ITI Nalbari before being recruited.

Kotecha said PepsiCo, with support from the Assam government, farmers and SBI, had developed a programme to cultivate chip-grade potatoes locally in Assam, a practice that had not previously been established at scale.

"This year for the first time, after a lot of trials and work, we've got 600 farmers and almost 7,000 tons of potato," he said.

The company plans to procure around 30,000 tonnes of potatoes from Assam in 2027, which would be four to five times the current procurement. In the following three to five years, PepsiCo expects sourcing to reach 55,000–60,000 tonnes, potentially expanding its farmer network from around 600 to 5,000 farmers.

Kotecha said the company was also expanding its Pragati programme in Assam. The initiative works with agri-entrepreneurs to promote regenerative agriculture, better farming practices and improved yields.

"That same learning, now we are starting in Assam. In Assam, we will have 2,200 agri-entrepreneurs only for Assam," he said, adding that the network could eventually work with around one lakh farmers across the state.

The PepsiCo executive said the company was also helping create supporting infrastructure and local supply chains around the plant. He cited the development of an 80,000-tonne cold storage facility for potatoes and said local vendors, including carton manufacturers, could emerge as the ecosystem expands.

"We are trying to build a larger ecosystem with farmers," Kotecha said, stressing that the company's objective was not merely to increase employment at the plant but to generate wider livelihood opportunities.

PepsiCo is also working on reviving Eri silk production in a village in Nalbari as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives. Kotecha said the company was working with an institution to revive the traditional practice, provide training and explore market opportunities for the product.

"PepsiCo is just not manufacturing a product. PepsiCo is building a whole ecosystem and livelihood," he said.

Kotecha described the company's approach as "partnership with progress", saying the Assam plant was an example of how the company, farmers, government and local communities could grow together.