Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said that H.P. State Agriculture Marketing Board and Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) should work in coordination to provide maximum benefit to the growers of the State. He said that both these agencies were supposed to keep the interests of the farmers and horticulturists of the State.
Virbhadra Singh was interacting with Chairmen and Members of H.P. State Agriculture Marketing Board and APMCs here last evening. He said that this year the apple crop was quite good but the growers did not get appropriate price as market crashed due to sudden glut in the Markets. He said that some farmers even sent their unripend apples which did not get good price. He said that Marketing Board and APMCs were not limited to the sale and purchase of agriculture and horticulture produce but they were suppose to teach and equip the growers about new market strategies, latest farming techniques, use of proper pesticides and fertilizers.
Chief Minister said that farmers should not depend upon single crop and fruits but should go for diversification as there was vast scope for off season vegetables, floriculture, herbiculture and other crops. He said that Himachal Pradesh had varied climatic and topography and our farmers should be taught to take benefit of it as the vegetables which grow in winter season in plains can be grown here during the summer season.
Virbhadra Singh said that stress was given to maintain and keep open all the roads during apple season to enable the growers to send their crops to the markets. He said that Government would make efforts to open more market yards and setup cold chains so that the apple crop could be stored for longer duration and sent to Mandies keeping in view the demand and rates.
Chairman HP State Marketing Board Subhash Manglet said that due to directions of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and persistence efforts of the Board the High Court of Delhi had given a land mark judgment, which had safeguarded the interest of farmers and orchardists of the State as now the six per cent commission would not be charged from farmers in Azadpur Market, Delhi.
Member of Parliament Pratibha Singh, Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania, Chairman Sports, Culture and Environment Association, Vikramaditya Singh, Vice Chairman HP State Forest Corporation Kewal Singh Pathania, Vice Chairman HP SIDC Atul Sharma, Advisor Marketing Board Devinder Shyam, MD HP Agriculture Marketing Board H.S. Baweja, Chairman and Members of APMCs were present on the occasion.
