A new kind of cooperative revolution is taking shape in some districts of Punjab where a few farmers have decided to set up a cooperative and open retail shops to market vegetable produce thereby doing away with the need of middleman.
These farmers intend to start its retail service at Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh. Later they aim to encompass whole of Punjab and Delhi. Their main dependence is on net house cultivation.
MD, J S Sangha of the GHMVCS( Global Healthy Marketing Vegetables Cooperative Society) told media that we aim at empowering farmers by making them earn Rs one lakh per acre whereas they are getting a meager 20 to 25 thousand presently.
As per the proposed plan, the society will rope in over 800 small and marginal farmers from districts like Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahar for cultivation of vegetables.
We will also encourage net-house cultivation of vegetables in which minimum of pesticide is used to grow high quality crops which will fetch higher returns, he said adding that about 400 net houses would be set up for vegetable cultivation.
The society has already taken 10 pack houses and ripening chambers on lease for vegetables. He said there is a plan also to sell few fruits like papaya, banana and mango sourced from other states.
