Arunachal farmers get a bulk market within the ITBP

GUWAHATI

A government-run company in Arunachal Pradesh has began a mission to assist high-altitude farmers provide farm-fresh greens and fruits in bulk to armed forces personnel throughout the State.

On July 3, the Arunachal Pradesh Agricultural Advertising Board (APAMB) despatched a consignment of greens to the 59th Battalion of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) stationed at Nafra within the newly created Bichom district. The district’s Deputy Commissioner, Bopai Puroik, flagged off the consignment underneath the ‘Mission Arun Himveer’ initiative.

This initiative between the APAMB and the ITBP is the second such, after ‘Mission Krishi Veer’ was launched in August 2022 for personnel of the Indian Military and different paramilitary forces.

“We envisage Mission Arun Himveer as a bridge between our hard-working farmers and the valiant personnel guarding our borders. It entails procuring farm merchandise from native farmers, self-help teams, farmer-producer organisations, and farmer cooperatives,” Mr. Puroik stated.

The mission warrants the constant provide of recent, high-quality, natural, and regionally grown greens to ITBP personnel deployed in distant and high-altitude posts. By establishing a direct market hyperlink between the armed forces and farmers, the mission seeks to make sure native farmers have a sustainable supply of revenue.

The initiative displays a mannequin of self-reliance and mutual help aimed toward decreasing dependence on lengthy provide strains and intermediaries, making certain freshness, truthful pricing, and well timed supply of farm merchandise.

Terrain-handicapped farmers in Arunachal Pradesh have lengthy struggled to provide perishable objects in massive portions as a consequence of poor market linkage and the dominance of large-scale, non-organic producers in adjoining Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal.

Not less than 50,000 armed forces personnel are stationed in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kameng Sector (contains the Bichom, East Kameng, Tawang, and West Kameng districts) and one other 50,000 in the remainder of the State.

APAMB officers said that the demand from the Indian Military is for about 17 tonnes of fruits and 23 tonnes of greens per day. Some 8-10% of those had been sourced from farmers in Arunachal Pradesh till 2022.

The State has 1.17 lakh farmers, cultivating about 5.4 lakh hectares, and producing greater than 330 tonnes of fruits and 390 tonnes of greens per day.