Maharashtra to Tripura — Kisan Rail is helping Indian farmers deliver, even in a pandemic

What if your local market had fresh orchids from Arunachal, seasonal apples from Kashmir, flowers from Latur, pineapple from Manipur, betel leaves and coconuts from Tamil Nadu? The Narendra Modi government’s Kisan Rail has now made that possible.

Started in August 2020 as an initiative to increase farmers’ incomes, Kisan Rail makes use of one of India’s best resources – its extensive rail network – to transport perishable agri-products such as milk, meat and fish. It’s a cold storage on wheels. In one of its latest consignments, it transported 1,725 tonnes of mangoes under 10 days in April from Visakhapatnam to Delhi.

The Kisan Rail is becoming increasingly popular with farmers in India – in December last year, PM Modi flagged off the 100th Kisan Rail train – because it is cheaper, faster, opens up new markets and, most importantly, it has no minimum price or quantity requirement. So, small and marginal farmers can send as little as “few dozen eggs sent from Manmad to Khandwa, for which Railways charged a freight of Rs 34.” But the initiative earns the Railways in lakhs too.

What started as a service between Devlali in Maharashtra and Danapur in Bihar, has now crisscrossed the country — from Delhi to Agartala to Nagpur to Howrah to Warangal. Farmers also get a subsidy of 50 per cent from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries for transporting certain fruits and vegetables.

It is a boost to incomes and a solution to India’s cold supply chain problem.