Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that the long-pending ‘Banana Cluster’ project in Jalgaon has now received approval and will be developed at a cost of Rs 200 crore. Under this cluster, facilities such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), mechanisation, bio-control, fruit covering, and pre-cooling will be established. In addition, infrastructure related to cold storage, ripening chambers, refrigerated vans, processing, and export will also be developed. Subsidies for these facilities will be provided under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), ensuring direct benefits to farmers.
The Union Minister expressed concern over the wide gap between the low prices farmers receive for their produce and the high prices at which the same products are sold in urban markets. He noted that farmers are often compelled to sell products like tomatoes at very low prices, while the same commodities are sold at significantly higher rates in cities. He assured that the Centre and state governments will work together to develop an effective mechanism to reduce this price disparity so that farmers receive fair value for their produce.
Chouhan further stated that crops like bananas cannot be procured under Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanisms for long-term storage. Therefore, the government is considering an alternative model under which, if market prices fall excessively, farmers would be compensated for the difference between the cost or a predetermined model price and the prevailing market price. He added that similar experiments have already been conducted for crops like chillies and mangoes, and new models are being developed under the ‘PM-AASHA’ (Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan) scheme.
The Union Minister also stated that a comprehensive roadmap will be prepared to address the suggestions and issues raised by farmers. Emphasising the need to give Jalgaon’s bananas a stronger global identity, he said that all necessary steps will be taken in this direction. Referring to the core values of Indian culture, he wished for the welfare and prosperity of all and reiterated the government’s commitment to making farmers self-reliant and prosperous.