Abohar: Farmers seek kinnow in mid-day meal scheme

Abohar, January 2

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Farmers have lauded the state government’s decision to include fruit in midday meals for government school children under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM Poshan) scheme starting January 1. However, Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar and Bhartiya Kisan Union activists demanded that kinnow, instead of banana, should be served to schoolchildren at least for the first three months of 2024 to bail out the fruit growers who were not getting remunerative prices.

Jakhar, himself a leading farmer, mailed to CM Bhagwant Mann requesting to serve kinnow fruit to the school children. Buying local produce will not only benefit the farmers, but also pricing them appropriately will ensure a stable market, he said.

BKU Rajewal spokesperson Sukhjinder Singh Rajan said the farmers had developed orchards with the hope that they would get better prices for their produce, but the condition of kinnow in markets is worrying the farmers. In Fazilka, the farmers came out of the cycle of paddy and wheat crops and developed orchards, but it is a matter of great regret that the farmers are not getting remunerative prices, Rajan said. — OC

Local produce

Farmers’ groups demanded that kinnow, instead of banana, should be served to schoolchildren for the first three months of 2024 to bail out the fruit growers who were not getting remunerative prices.