Minister urges farmers in Karnataka to brand their produce
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Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil on Tuesday known as upon farmers to course of and add worth to their merchandise earlier than branding and advertising and marketing them.
Speaking after the formal launch of a farmer coaching programme underneath the Prime Minister’s Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises on the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) right here, he mentioned the Agriculture Department, which was hitherto limiting itself to supporting farmers until the harvest of crop, had now come ahead to put together farmers to play a job in the advertising and marketing and sale of produce.
He mentioned the target behind this initiative was to be sure that farmers obtained the share of revenue due to them, which is now taken by middlemen or businessmen.
He cited the instance of how a good-sized capsicum grown with the assistance of inputs from scientists of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bengaluru would fetch a farmer solely ₹40, whereas it’s bought in the marketplace for ₹80. “Why should a farmer, who spends 120 days to grow the capsicum, get only ₹40 when the people involving in selling it in the market get the same amount in a matter of a few hours?” he requested.
He mentioned the coaching programme would assist farmers maximise their income. About 500 farmers from totally different elements of the State are present process coaching on the programme, which can present them a holistic view of meals processing, worth addition, and advertising and marketing potential of merchandise.
Though the coaching programme for these 500 farmers will conclude in March, Mr. Patil mentioned he would proceed his efforts with the CFTRI to lengthen the coaching programme to at the very least 1,500 farmers over the following yr.
The agriculture trade has now come into its personal after the COVID-19 lockdown, he mentioned. Though the IT/BT trade was dominant in the previous couple of years, the lockdown has slowed down the sector with the software program trade asking workers to work at home and the {hardware} trade but to resume full-fledged operations. Meanwhile, the agriculture trade is just not solely alive and kicking, however its prospects are vibrant, he mentioned.
Business of agriculture
P. Chandra Shekara, director-general of the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, often known as MANAGE, Hyderabad, expressed remorse that farmers, who type 60% of the nation’s inhabitants, account for less than 16.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Farmers’ contribution to the GDP will not increase unless agriculture becomes a business,” he mentioned.
Farmers obtain solely 35% to 40% of the price of an agriculture product they produce; the remainder goes to businessmen. Hence, a farmer can double his revenue by branding and selling his personal product like a businessman, he mentioned.
A press release mentioned coaching could be offered to recognized farmers from totally different taluks of the State to promote One District One Product (ODOP) underneath the broad areas of millets, toor dal, fruits, and greens.
The manufacturing of horticultural crops in Karnataka is estimated to be 18.7 million tonnes, and tropical fruits equivalent to banana, mango, guava, pineapple, and papaya are among the many main ones. There are loads of alternatives for worth addition to these vegatables and fruits as a lot of applied sciences can be found for their major and secondary processing with good market potential, the assertion mentioned. Similarly, toor dal, which is produced in the State in the vary of 10 to 11 lakh tonnes, additionally has a very good advertising and marketing potential and fetches higher costs when it’s processed.
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