Tamil Nadu: Horticulture dept brings farm produce to Coimbatore residents

Pratiksha Ramkumar | TNN | Apr 7, 2020, 15:53 IST

To help farmers struggling to find workers to harvest their crops and sell their produce, officials from the horticulture department are planning to connect them with residents struggling to procure fresh vegetables due to the lockdown.

To help farmers struggling to find workers to harvest their crops and sell their produce, officials from the h...Read More

COIMBATORE: To help farmers struggling to find workers to harvest their crops and sell their produce, officials from the horticulture department are planning to connect them with residents struggling to procure fresh vegetables due to the lockdown.
Officials have convinced a group of farmers to install mobile outlets in front of apartments and gated communities, so that farmers are ensured a good bargain for their produce and the buyers get vegetables delivered afresh.
It all began when Karamadai block’s assistant horticulture director, F Suresh, got a call from his brother about a relative with half an acre of mint which was yet to be harvested. He posted the availability on Coimbatore Food Group, and the response and demand was staggering. “That’s when I got the idea of mobile outlets,” Suresh said.
Suresh, through his extended family, got in touch with farmers from areas such as Sulthanpet, Poorandampalayam and J Krishnapuram, who had vegetables like bittergourd, bottlegourd, tomatoes, small onions, brinjal among others, ready for harvest but were struggling to reach wholesale dealers. “I got in touch with farmers and the CFG, apart from influential people like Vanitha Mohan. We helped the farmers reach a few apartment complexes who would be interested in buying vegetables at their doorsteps,” said the assistant horticulture director. For the past five days, Suresh’s team has helped 15 farmers take their vegetables to several apartments at Race Course, Sowripalayam and Ramanathapuram.
“The farmers load their produce into a common truck and it is broughtinsidethe city by threefarmers’ sons. We also go to the apartments, explain residents fresh produce is being sold at their doorsteps,” said Suresh, who has teamed up with Sulthanpet horticulture officer, G Gopalan. Now requests are flooding in from others areas.