BJP MLA Sangita Patil records third straight win in Surat’s Limbayat seat despite strong anti-incumbency
- Thursday | 8th December, 2022
Thanks to the Krushi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of Navsari Agricultural University, farmers’ work-from-home dreams have been made possible.Every year KVK opens its facility for organic mango farmers to sell their produce, but owing to second wave of pandemic, the centre dropped the idea this year. But to help farmers avert losses, KVK helped them connect with thousands of buyers from their database.
Every year during April and May, Laxmi Patel, an organic farmer in Aat village of Navsari, would reach Surat with truckload of mangoes from her three orchards.
However, this year the second wave of pandemic has not only made mobility difficult, but she is also afraid of risking getting infected in the city.
After cases started to escalate in the first week of April, Patel was in serious dilemma — whether to risk it all and go in person to APMC market to sell the produce or sell in the local market.
However, thanks to digitalization, the worries for Patel and hundreds of organic mango farmers from south Gujarat like her are over. Today, sitting at her own home, Patel has been able to sell 200 quintals of mangoes in just 15 days!
Thanks to the Krushi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of Navsari Agricultural University, farmers’ work-from-home dreams have been made possible.
Every year KVK opens its facility for organic mango farmers to sell their produce, but owing to second wave of pandemic, the centre dropped the idea this year. But to help farmers avert losses, KVK helped them connect with thousands of buyers from their database.
“Around 400 mango farmers are connected with us and thousands of people used to come to our centre every year to purchase the mangoes. So, this year too they called us. But now we are just passing on phone numbers of farmers to the buyers,” said Dr C K Timbadiya, senior scientist and head of KVK.
Buyers then either go to the orchard directly after contacting the farmer or the farmer sends a truck full of mangoes. “If the order is small, then the buyer can go to the orchard and purchase, but if there is an order from an entire society or a big group, the farmer sends it in a truck,” Timbadiya.
“This is helping immensely because I do not have to go anywhere and if people come at my farm too, I take all precautions. Even the cash that they give is kept outside open for a couple of days before bringing it inside the house,” said Patel, who is expecting to sell 250 more quintals of Alphonso, Kesar and Daseri mangoes.
“If we go to sell in the APMC market, there are chances of contracting the virus besides paying commission to the market. The closing of the market has come as a blessing this time because I can sell my products without any fear or favour,” said Suresh Patel, a farmer from Vasan village of Gandevi taluka.
According to Timbadiya, farmers are selling 100 to 125kg mangoes through this new initiative to buyers from Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and even from Mumbai. “When the buyer too goes to the orchard, they will know more about the other crops that farmers grow which will help farmers to get market for other produces too,” he said.
Buyers can contact KVK’s two scientists Dr Rashmikant Gurjar (9574545436) or Dr Sumit Salunkhe (9921398237) to get in touch with mango farmers.
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