The Value-Added Agriculture Mission (VAAM) which received Cabinet nod on Wednesday is primarily aimed at doubling farmers’ income in the State, Minister for Agriculture P. Prasad has said.
Briefing the media on the mission here on Wednesday, Mr. Prasad said it would give a thrust to production methods, technologies and marketing services that would add value to primary agricultural produce and enhance their marketability. ''We feel that the incomes of farmers can be doubled if these activities are undertaken in a mission mode by the government. In the present scenario, the farmer grows crops, but value addition is done by others, who also grab the profits,'' he said.
The VAAM will help identify profitable national/international markets for Kerala products by focussing on procurement, standardisation, quality control, branding and labelling. Other areas which will come under its ambit include identification of technologies and mechanisation that aid value-addition and speedier dissemination of information through a common knowledge platform.
