In a significant move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Mumbai have started the “Farmer market on wheel-Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra”, an initiative to supply agricultural produce, primarily vegetables and fruits on the move vehicles at consumers’ doorstep.
Under this initiative, farmers may bring in their produce to the district centres (Kendras) and get paid upfront in cash. According to the project director Prasad Lad, the produce would be uploaded on to a vehicle owned and maintained by a group of BJP workers. Lad is a senior BJP functionary in Mumbai.
“The produce would be sold across all major centres on vehicles, allowing consumers to buy farm fresh vegetables, fruits and all agricultural commodities directly procured from farmers. This would not only preserve the quality of farm produce but would also come at a discount of at least 25 per cent to the nearby mandi prices. Most importantly, farmers would get the price that the consumer pays, which would substantially higher than what they would get from a stockist or a middleman,” said Lad.
The project was launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as “Mee Mumbai Abhiyan–Abhiman” in alliance with Shri Swami Samarth farmer producer company to providing job opportunities to unemployed youth.
Farmers need infrastructure to store vegetables and fruits. To address this requirement, the state government is reviving the defunct Maharashtra Agro and Fruit Processing Corporation (Mafco) which has all necessary infrastructures. Fadnavis said that this initiative would provide huge job opportunity for youth in the state.
Initially, the project will ply 125 vehicles across the city to transport and retail agri produce which would be extended across all districts in the state later, Lad said.