In a bid to help farmers to get better prices for their produce, the Maharashtra Government has decided to organise 'Krushi Mahotsav' (agriculture festivals) in 34 districts of the state, a senior official said.
As per the plan, the Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) will coordinate to organise these five-days long festivals for the next three years. These events are planned be held in all the districts of Maharashtra except Mumbai city district and Mumbai suburban district.
The state took the decision to this effect yesterday and as per the plan, each district will get Rs 20 lakh to organise the event, the official said.
According to the official, the state government had been organising these agriculture festivals since the last decade and farmers were encouraged to take part in the district-level event, where they could sell their produce directly to consumers. However, due to the severe drought the event could not held in the last two years.
"In the last couple of years, these Mahotsavs were held only at a few places. This was mainly due to water scarcity and reduced agriculture production," the official said.
"However, since there was a good rainfall and rise in foodgrain production this year, the government has decided to promote the festivals, so that farmers will earn better than what they earn through conventional way-- supplying their foodgrains to APMCs (agriculture produce market committees), where commission agents control the rates," he added.
He said these Mahotsavs could be organised as per the convenience of the local administration any time between October and March. The kharif cropping season is from July to October, while the rabi crop is harvested by March. Therefore, if the festivals are held during this period, farmers can sell their crop there.
Maharashtra Minister of State for Agriculture and Marketing, Sadabhau Khot, said, "Such events will certainly support farmers as their earning would be more than the conventional trading. The farmers should also be trained for efficient way of handling the foodgrain to reduce the losses in transport. This will not only save the loss of foodgrain, but also keep the prices under control. Such practice will avoid fluctuation in prices due to the shortage of supply or excess production.
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