Connecting the farms to the agricultural markets, the first ''Kisan Rail'' from south India chugged off from Anantapuramu on Wednesday carrying 322 tonnes of fresh fruits to the famous Azadpur Mandi in the national Capital.
Union Minister for Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy flagged off the inaugural Kisan Rail, the second in the country, via a video link from New Delhi and Amaravati. Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, Anantapuramu MP T Rangaiah, South Central Railway General Manager Gajanan Mallya, Anantapuramu district Collector Gandham Chandrudu, Guntakal Railway Division Manager Alok Tiwari and others joined the event.
The Kisan Rail comes as a boon to the farmers, particularly those growing horticultural crops, as it ensures the produce reaches the markets in quicker time. "This gives immense benefits to the farmers in many ways.
Huge quantities can be transported in one go, the transportation time is reduced, costs are cut and transportation losses will also be minimal," Collector Chandrudu told PTI. In the existing system of transportation through trucks, post-harvest losses of about 25 per cent were causing a loss of about Rs 300 crore a year to the farmers.
"We can now eliminate this as shipment through train will keep the produce intact and fetch a premium price. Besides erasing the loss of Rs 300 crore (due to transportation damages), farmers can also stand to gain Rs 400 crore per annum by realizing a premium price on their produce," Chandrudu noted.
Though otherwise a parched district, Anantapuramu is considered the ''fruit bowl of Andhra Pradesh,'' where the cropped area under horticulture is 2.02 lakh hectares, yielding an output of 58.39 lakh tonnes per annum of various fruits and vegetables.
While consumption of fruits and vegetables within the state is only around six lakh tonnes, the rest is marketed across the country and abroad.
"Sweet orange, banana, mango, papaya, pomegranate and melons are our major produce that have a good market in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, UP, West Bengal, Gujarat and Karnataka. Our tomato, grapes, pomegranate, sweet orange and banana are exported to Bangladesh, Nepal and Middle East countries," Chandrudu said.
The Kisan Rail is planned to be run once a week now but as harvesting picks up after October, the frequency may be increased from January based on the demand.
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