Nafed to buy fruits in J&K

Market Intervention Scheme extended to Jammu region

To explore alternate marketing channels for export of fresh fruits, the Jammu and Kashmir horticulture planning and marketing department has entered into a tie-up with the National Agriculture Co-operative Marketing Federation (Nafed ) to procure fruits directly from growers on commission basis.

Nafed will charge a four per cent commission against the 12 per cent being charged by the merchants and agents of mandis.

This will help in eliminating middlemen and in preventing exploitation of marginal and small farmers. Initially, around 150,000 fruit boxes will be bought by Nafed from four horticulture co-operative societies of the Valley.

Moreover, 50 per cent of the estimated cost of the fruit will be paid to fruit growers in advance and balance amount within a month. The federation will also provide advance finances to the horticulture co-operative societies having no credit facility.

This was decided at a meeting Agriculture Minister Abdul Aziz Zargar had with a federation delegation here on June 17.

A Nafed delegation is in the state to revive its activities after a gap of 14 years. Nafed suspended its activities in the state in 1990. According to the agreement, Nafed will provide latest market information to fruit growers.

Assuring full government support, Zargar asked the federation to set up a modern concentration plant in the Valley as enough raw material was available and suggested devising a viable "pay-back" arrangement for farmers to safeguard their interests.

He also assured that the government would provide adequate support to such units under the Rs 100 crore technology mission for development of horticulture.

He also called for promoting contract farming and vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation.

Meanwhile, the market intervention scheme launched on a trial basis last year for fruit growers and industry will continue for another year and has been extended to the Jammu region also.

The scheme would continue this year also and would be extended to procure about 1,500 tonnes of sandy pear, an important horticulture crop of the Jammu division, said the agriculture minister.

The market intervention scheme was launched to ensure proper grading of fruit, providing C-grade apple to the processing industry at subsidised rates to make it competitive in domestic and international markets, promote investment in the value-addition to reduce the farm waste and to familiarise use of cardboard cartons for standard grading of fruit.

Zargar said about 50,000 tonnes of C-grade apple would be procured at a cost of Rs 53 lakh under the scheme this year.

He said the compact areas in various districts would be identified for implementing the scheme with main thrust on covering low lying areas of Kashmir.

In the Jammu division, the areas identified for procuring sandy pear include Ramnagar, Manjakote, Kotranka, Surankote, Bufliaz, Mendhar and Chandak.

Meanwhile, the state government has initiated various self-employment projects in the floriculture sector in rural areas.

As a part of the programme, advanced technology would be introduced at all levels to give new dimension and objectives to the sector, Floriculture Minister Suman Lata Bhagat said in Srinagar today after inspecting gardens in the city.

To encourage young farmers to establish self-employment ventures in the floriculture sector, the government would impart six months' training to about 150 farmers to acquaint them with the latest techniques in gardening, the minister said. Each trainee would be given a stipend of Rs 1,000 a month, she added.

A cut-flow project with several demonstration plots would be created at block level to educate the farmers about the prospects of floriculture in raising their socio-economic profile. This project would also open new horizons for unemployed youth of the state, she added.