Farmers in Baijnath form platform to sell produce

Farmers in the Baijnath region of Kangra district have come together to form a producers organisation (FPO) to market their produce. The farmers, particularly from the remote areas of Kangra, are now able to sell milk, vegetables, wheat flour and herbs through a shop located in the Paprola area near Baijnath. This initiative is boosting the income of farmers from remote places who previously had no access to the market.

The FPO, registered as Baijnath Pragatishelil Kisan Utpadak Co Ltd, is helping around 400 farmers from the Baijnath Development Block to sell their products. Akshay Jasrotia, the man behind the initiative, says that the organisation was formed with the support of NABARD under a central sectoral scheme that aims to establish and promote 10,000 FPOs across the country. “The sale and collection centre in Paprola was developed with assistance from the JICA project and but it had been vacant for some time. After requesting the state government to hand over the building, the FPO was given permission to operate from the location,” he added.

The FPO also collects surplus milk from farmers in the remote villages of Baijnath. At present, the FPO gathers 450 litres to 500 litres of milk daily from 185 farmers, including goat milk from shepherds that otherwise have no market. The milk collected from a farmer ranges from half a kilo to 20 kg per day. About 40 per cent of the milk is sold directly to households in Baijnath and Paprola towns, 30 per cent is sold at the sale centre and 20 per cent is processed daily into cottage cheese, curd, ghee and lassi for sale at the centre.