Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said his government will open 2,000 multi-brand retails outlets where farmers can sell their agriculture produce as traders. This move is to help reduce farmers’ dependency on markets.
The state government through the cooperative department will come out with a new brand ‘Harit’, under the brand retails outlets will open across the state. These retail outlets will be opened in both cities and villages.
Outlets will not only sell products from the state’s brand Vita but also products from other states. Products such as dairy, fruit juices, bottled water, and other items prepare from self-help groups will be sold.
All the outlets will function as mini-super markets. The youth of the village and town will work to manage the stores according to their skill set. The state is also in plan to launch potable mineral water under the brand name ‘Haryana Fresh’ through the Public Health Engineering Department
Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 - introduced by the Union government are the two ordinances Manolar Lal Khattar talked about.
Khattar said the idea of the outlets is to help farmers and in the interest of farmers’ growth. Disinformation spread regarding the idea needs to be solved which are misleading the farmers he said.
The center has introduced many farmer-friendly schemes and announced new ordinances to help farmers effectively sell their produce and store it in order to save it from going waste.
"In the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package announced by the Central government recently, Rs 1 lakh crore has been kept for agricultural infrastructure, including warehouses and agro-based industries. Schemes are being chalked out to ensure that farmers of Haryana get the maximum benefit from this package," CM added.
He said that in the last two years, the minimum support price (MSP) declared by the government before the sowing of crops enable farmers to sow the crop accordingly. The government will continue buying the crops in Mandi’s if the farmer gets a better price outside he can go for it.
The plan is will help farmers have many options on how to make good returns from his produce, selling in mandi’s, exporting the produce or selling in the new outlets directly to customers.
