No country can progress if its farmers are not adequately respected and rewarded, observed Governor R.N. Ravi here on Saturday.
Speaking at a banana stakeholders meet at the ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana at Thayanur on the outskirts of Tiruchi, Mr. Ravi said the nation was grateful to its farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was concerned about the welfare of farmers, who were the backbone of the country, and he was discussing ways to improve their economic situation.
Farmers faced problems and a lot had to be done to improve their situation. One of the major problems faced by them, as highlighted by a progressive farmer at the meeting, was market linkage. “There is a big difference in price that the farmers get for their produce and the price of the final processed product sold in the market. The farmers get only a fraction. To this extent, farmers were at a disadvantage.
So many products were being made out of banana and they should be available everywhere. “The farmers produce and there are technologies available to process the fruit. But we are unable to scale it up so that the products are available all over the country and abroad through effective market linkage,” Mr. Ravi said.
As pointed out at the meeting, unlike rice or sugarcane which are procured by some agency and processed, there was no agency to procure banana from farmers by providing a fair price and process it. “This needs to be addressed. I will take it up with competent authorities,” he said and added that he would also take up with the Central government the others issues raised by farmers’ representatives during the meeting.
Terming the visit to NRCB an eye-opener for him, the Governor said that only after the visit to the Centre that he came to know that so many products could be made from banana. “I know that banana is nutritious, tasty and hygienic. But I did not know that banana is a kalpatharu and almost anything and everything can be made from the fruit – fabric, clothes, cosmetics and various others. It only goes to show how much can be achieved by encouraging banana farmers and ensuring due remuneration to them.”
Stating that people should be aware that there were many varieties of banana grown in Tamil Nadu and products made out of the fruit, the Governor invited the banana growers and farmers’ producers’ organisations to display their products at Raj Bhavan during major events and functions.
Claiming that he too was a farmer, Mr. Ravi said: “In my place I have grown sugarcane, paddy and wheat and worked in the farm during my high school days. I know what is farming though am new to banana cultivation.”
Earlier, banana growers and representatives of farmers’ producers’ organisations highlighted the need for creating effective market linkages and strengthening infrastructure besides promoting agro-based industries and a banana export zone. R. Selvarajan, Director, NRCB, spoke.
