‘Sabji coolers’ in backyards, Koraput farmers breathe sigh of relief

JEYPORE:  Though cold storages are still a distant dream for many villages in Odisha, farmers in Koraput have some alternative to cheer about. With innovative sabji or vegetable coolers set up in many villages, the farmers now hope to store their produce for a longer duration, saving them the bother of losses. 

Helping the farmers in this innovative attempt is the district administration, which has been provisioning Rs 47,000 out of the total cost of Rs 5,500 needed to set up the cooler, that runs without electricity and can preserve up to 150 kg vegetables for seven days. The rest Rs 3500 is being borne by the farmers. Initially set up in different villages in Semiliguda block in farmers’ backyards, the coolers can run using only 10-15 litres of water once a day, with a life span of 4-5 years. 

Earlier, the farmers were compelled to sell their produce immediately after harvest to fetch proper price. Sources said, around 30 tonne of  vegetables is produced daily in the block which are sold in the local markers of Sunabeda, Damonjodi and Kunduli. Sometimes, the growers were forced to resort to distress sale if the vegetables were not sold in time due to lack of preservation facilities, amounting to heavy losses. 

Now, around 27 farmers have been supported with Rs 47,000 from the district minerals fund (DMF) along with a contribution of Rs 3,500 from the farmers.  Tribal women farmers like Sambari Jani and Lalita Jayapuriya of Barkutni and Aligaon villages are a relieved lot as they expect to reduce the losses. “These coolers have made our lives easier and improved our income as we don’t have to worry about unsold vegetables getting rotten anymore. We can now keep vegetables fresh for days and fetch good returns and earn at least Rs 2,000 more,” said Sambari. 

The success of the vegetable coolers has prompted the administration to take the initiative to other blocks of Koraput, Dasmantpur, Narayanpatana, Pottangi and Laxmipur. District livelihood mission manager Sasmita Samantaray, who is monitoring the functioning of the coolers under DMF, said there are plans of installing 200 more units. “The coolers have substantially reduced losses from farm to markets and significantly  the hurdle of cold storage has been addressed. We want to include more and more farmers in this initiative to help them get proper prices for their produce,” added Samantaray. 

Initiated under the Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM), Mumbai-based Rukart Technologies is providing technical know-how and equipment for the construction of the sabji cooler. The metal chamber uses over 1,600 plastic balls to enable cooling and the farmer only needs to construct a brick and cement chamber to house the cooler. Rukart also provides plastic trays to store the vegetables in the cooler.