By Dominick Rodrigues
Mumbai : In a first of its kind, small farmers from Latur and Osmanabad region of Maharashtra, gained access to a new market and increased income — with a helping hand from the Indian Railways –when they loaded flowers in the +Kisan Rail+ from Kurduwadi station to Adarsh Nagar Delhi recently.
The Indian Railways’ +Kisan Rail+ project is transforming lives of many small farmers of Maharashtra with increase in income, motivating for sustenance of their livelihood, prosperity and a hope for the future.,
March 9, 2021 witnessed small greenhouse farmers of Latur and Osmanabad region loading 650 kg of flowers in Kisan Rail from Kurduwadi station to Adarsh Nagar Delhi. These flowers were grown in ‘drought-hit’ areas of Maharashtra. Including Padoli, Wagholi, Ter, Panewadi & Upla villages of Osmanabad district and Murud in Latur district by farmers holding one/two acres of land.
Until 12th March 2021, 61,252 tonnes of perishables farm produce from Maharashtra were loaded in 200 trips of Kisan Rail – thus benefitting large number of marginal farmers and transforming their livelihood.
The farmers expressed excitement about the access to the new market with quick & cheaper rail transportation for their highly-perishable flowers, while also getting higher prices for their products. Farmer Shridhar Bhimrao Kale from Dumala, Osmanabad, Maharashtra, said “Flowers are now transported to the market quickly and at low cost, besides being sold at a very profitable price”. Another farmer from Murud village of Latur district, Bibhisan Nade said “Kisan Rail leads me to Delhi market and fetched a higher price for my flowers at low transportation cost”.
Kisan Rail introduced by Indian Railways is quietly transforming the lives of the farmers of Maharashtra by enabling them to increase their income through creation of seamless supply chain of perishable goods (fruits & vegetables) as well as essential commodities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Farmers from Solapur, Ahmednagar, Kalaburagi, Latur, Osmanabad, Nashik, Jalgaon, Amaravati and Nashik districts of Maharashtra are now accessing the various new markets in Northern and Eastern parts of India like Delhi NCR, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Northeast region, a release stated.
