60 agri business centres planned in Maharashtra

Of this, 12 would come up in Nashik district.

The Centre, with the assistance of the Asia Development Bank, is planning to open 60 agri business centres (ABCs) in Maharashtra, including 12 in Nashik district, next year. The move is aimed at creating a platform for farmers for direct sale of their produce and help them fetch a better price.

Only two states in the country "" Maharashtra and Bihar "" have been selected for this novel project. New Delhi-based Global Agri System Pvt Ltd (GASPL) is chalking out a detailed project report (DPR) in this regard and is expected to submit the same by February 2008.

"Around 12 ABCs will be opened in Nashik district at Lasalgaon, Ghoti, Chandvad, Niphad, Malegaon, Pimpalgaon, Dindori, Palkhed, Borgaon, Manmad, Abhona and Satana, while other 48 ABCs will be opened in rest of the Maharashtra including Nagpur, Pune, Baramati, Jalgaon and Kolhapur," officials close to the development said.

The ABC will have facilities like godowns and cold storage. Agri goods from these ABCs will be sent to intra-country markets through railways from Jalgaon, Kolhapur and Nagpur. There is also a proposal to export them through air cargo from Nagpur and Pune.

The state government will provide land for the proposed centres. Fifty per cent of the total project cost will be made available from the Asian Development Bank on lower interest rate of 2.5-3 per cent, while the farmers will contribute 10 per cent. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will raise the remaining 40 per cent.

Nashik district is known for producing large quantity of onion and grapes. The district produces about 1.2 million tonne of onions per year (including all three crops - kharif, rangada and rabi).

Maharashtra accounts for around 30 per cent of the country's total onion production of which Nashik contributes 35-40 per cent. More than 6 lakh tonnes of grapes are produced in the district and the productivity is around 20 tonnes per hectare.