To ensure a continuous supply of fresh vegetables to urban markets, the State Horticulture Department will set up 40 collection centres and 100 retail outlets in Coimbatore and Chennai.

Speaking to Express on the sidelines of Farm to Fork: Challenges and Opportunities in Indian Agribusiness & Food Processing Industry, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here, Satyabrata Sahoo, State commissioner, Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Agriculture Department said that the State government had sought expression of interest from aggregators or private entrepreneurs for setting up 16 collections centres.

The aim is to create a forward linkage from rural to urban areas.

He said that Chennai and Coimbatore would have 50 retail outlets each under the scheme.

The move will ensure an assured income to farmers in rural areas adjoining the cities. Clusters of farmers will be formed to supply produce to a society run by the farmers at the district level.

Private entrepreneurs or aggregators will be engaged to collect, sort, grade and pack the produce at their location and supply it to retail outlets in the city. This scheme will be implemented as a public private partnership, he said.

Sahoo said that rooftop gardening would soon be implemented in the State in 12,000 places.

“We have called for tenders,” he added.

Nine thousand of these will be taken up in the city while 3,000 rooftops in Coimbatore will be converted into gardens.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Michael Carter, Australian Trade commissioner said that Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology, had entered into a `148 million partnership to help stamp out iron-deficiency anaemia, a major cause of maternal death during childbirth.

The project will see new strains of iron-rich bananas.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Student / by Express News Service – Chennai / November 28th, 2013