Agriculture Minister, Mr Vishwajit Rane said that Goa is the first state in India to frame a scheme of procuring locally-grown vegetables and later selling it through Goa State Horticulture Corporation (GSHC) outlets. This scheme will promote rural small-scale farming and will benefit the farmers’ community in the state, he added.Mr Rane was speaking after inaugurating vegetable procurement cum retail outlet of GSHC at Krishi melava, Valpoi. Chairman of Horticulture Corporation, Mr Sankalp Amonker, director of Agriculture, Mr Satish Tendulker, managing director, Mr Orlando Rodriques, VMC chairperson, Ms Gulzar Bi Khan, Ms Sakshi Sawal and ex-MLA, Mr Ashok Parob
were present.
Speaking further Mr Rane said, “Vegetables will be available at wholesale rate at these retail outlets, which is an effort taken by the government to curb inflation.” He also urged farmers and self-help groups to come forward and make maximum use of the outlets. “It is a guaranteed system of payment to the farmers wherein the farmers will be paid every Friday for the supply of vegetables,” he said.
There are around 240 outlets in the state where vegetables are purchased from Belgaum and sold at the wholesale price. The farmers from Sattari have to register their names, mode of cultivation and quantity of output supplied per day at the centre. The outlet will collect vegetables from 5 kilo onwards.
“To facilitate and help the local farmers and motivate them in increasing the locally-grown vegetable output Horticulture Corporation has taken the step of opening such unique procurement cum retail outlet,” said the chairman of Horticulture Corporation, Mr Sankalp Amonker. He further said that the outlets of fruit are also proposed and expecting green signal from the Minister. He also disclosed that such procurement outlets are also identified in other parts of the state and will soon be
thrown open.
Earlier, a cheque of ` 8000 was given to a mahila mandal besides cheques of support price of sugarcane were also distributed to the farmers.