AFFI Eyes Kerala Coop Network to Market Apples from HP, Kashmir, Uttarakhand
Representational Image. Image Courtesy: pti
New Delhi: The Apple Farmers Federation of India (AFFI), which comprises growers from Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in New Delhi last Sunday to leverage Kerala’s extensive cooperative system to ensure remunerative prices to apple growers.
“We are looking to bypass the current marketing system dominated by arhtiyas (commission agents) and corporates,” Sohan Thakur, an AFFI convener, told The Tribune.
Thakur said “with the local farmers sending apples directly to cooperative societies, the middlemen will be eliminated and the growers will automatically get better prices for their produce,” which will then create an “alternative marketing system” for the growers.
According to AIFF, the alternative marketing system based on cooperatives will help growers avert distress sales.
The farmers said Kerala had been chosen to test this scheme as it was one of the largest apple-consuming markets in the country and had a wide network of cooperatives.
Citing how the system was likely to work, P Krishnaprasad, finance secretary of All India Kisan Sabha, with which AIFF is affiliated, said, “The price of Grade A apple was Rs 369 per kg at Safal outlets in Delhi on Saturday. The farmers would not have got more than Rs 60 per kg. So, both farmers and consumers are getting exploited in the current system.”
He said “In the cooperative system, farmers will get a better price for their produce and the consumers will get the product at a reasonable rate as the cooperatives do not work with the idea of maximising their profits,”.
As regards transporting apples to Kerala, AFFI said it would be done via train from Chandigarh. “Apple can be transported through a train from Chandigarh to Kochi in 48 hours. The fruit will have a good shelf life even after reaching Kerala,” said Thakur. “If this mode of marketing works well, we will replicate it in other parts of the country as well,” he added.]
The meeting ended on a positive note, according to Thakur. The Kerala Chief Minister assured them of all possible help and asked them to meet the Minister of Cooperative Department in Kerala and present a detailed project report.
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