Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
After the state government sought suggestions for budget preparation, public and civil society organisations urged the government to create vegfed on the lines of Omfed to boost vegetable farming and improve condition of growers.
The civil society organizations, including Water Aid, CYSD and Odisha Budget and Accountability Centre (OBAC), have given several suggestions to improve agriculture sector.
The OBAC assistant manager Bhabani Prasad Mohapatra said Omfed has become a success model and it can be replicated in agriculture sector.
He said creation of vegfed would increase food processing units in the state and promote agricultural entrepreneurship and startups in the sector.
He said Omfed has given a source of livelihood to several milk farmers, employment to youths and createed a good marketing chain between milk producers and consumers.
“If it is implemented in the field of vegetable marketing and production, we can create jobs for youths and provide fresh vegetable consumers,” he added.
The state should produce enough vegetables to become self-sufficient, he added.
Some civil society members raised the issue of lack of cold storages for preservation of vegetables. They suggested construction cold storages in different parts of the state by taking the help of Nabard. The state can use MGNREGS funds for renovation of minor irrigation projects and digging up ponds to sustain vegetable farming, said a campaigner.
Vegfed can also work as a regulator for the vegetable sector, Mohapatra added.
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