A first for Mohali: Organic agri market takes off today

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, June 22

Aimed at promoting organic food items, the Mohali unit of the Punjab Agriculture Department is all set to launch an organic agriculture market, a first for the town, from tomorrow.

The market will be held every Friday from 1 pm to 6 pm at room number 123 of the District Administrative Complex (DAC) at Sector 76 here. The market will be launched by Mohali Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, who is said to have played an important role in setting up the market in the complex. “Organic products are the need of hour. There was no market for such produce here and it was indeed very discouraging for the farmers who are into organic farming. The step has been taken to promote organic products and provide the farmers a platform to sell their produce,” said Sapra.

Twelve farmers have been roped in for the purpose. “Our target is to rope in at least 20 such farmers within six months,” said Rajesh Kumar, Chief Agriculture Officer, here. Apart from organic vegetables, other organic products, including turmeric powder, honey, pulses and jaggery, will be made available to consumers at the market, said Rajesh Kumar. 

Lauding the department and the Mohali administration for the initiative, a progressive farmer, Avtar Singh, who produces organic turmeric in his three-acre farm at Tira village here, said the market would prove beneficial to farmers like him. 

“We were not having a proper platform to sell our products. With the coming up of the market, our demand has been met,” said Avtar Singh. Other farmers, including Didar Singh, Daljitpur Singh and Gurparkash Singh, echoed similar views. 

Rajesh Kumar said the rates of the organic items would be fixed by the department.

The administration is also planning to set up kiosks for organic food items on the lines of Verka kiosks at various points across the town.

What you can buy there

Apart from organic vegetables, other organic products, including turmeric powder, honey, pulses and jaggery, will also be made available to consumers at the market.