Gujarat: Farmer distributes 400 kg vegetables for free in Dahod village amid lockdown

Amid the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus pandemic, a 55-year-old farmer from Dahod has converted the crisis into an opportunity to serve the needy. Kanti Amliyar has been distributing vegetable packets for free at his village, Usarvan in Gujarat. 

According to reports, the total population of Usarvan is over 5000 out of which over 40 per cent of the villagers are migrant and contractual labourers who have returned to their native village and are facing a resource crunch.

While several vegetable farmers have not been able to sell their products amid the lockdown, so far Amilyar has distributed 400 kg of vegetables including tomatoes, onions, eggplants, and green gram, which he grew in his half-acre land.

READ | Lockdown: 69 Akola Farmer Groups Sell Produce Worth Rs 8.5 Cr

Farmer sells produce worth Rs 8.50 crore

Farmers in Akola in Maharashtra used technology to sell produce worth Rs 8.50 crore during the lockdown in place for the novel coronavirus outbreak, a senior agriculture official said on Saturday. The three-week-long nationwide lockdown started on March 25 and was extended on April 14 till May 3.

"Helped by the state agriculture department and the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), 69 farmer groups in Akola took orders directly from customers and delivered vegetables, fruits worth Rs 8.50 crore since lockdown began," informed District Agriculture Superintendent Mohan Wagh.

"They started sales at 93 places in urban areas and sold 850 tonnes of produce. Their mobile phones played a huge role," Wagh told PTI.

ATMA is part of the Centre's National Agricultural Technology Project and provides technical back-up and research to help farmers develop effective supply chains.

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