‘NE farmers lack logistic support, market access’

New Delhi: The government on Friday said farmers in the North-East lack market access and logistic supports for their produce despite the region being blessed with a conducive climate for rich agriculture production.
“The North-East Region is endowed with a climate for rich agri and forest produce but the growers do not have any market access for their produce and are compelled to be exploited by middle men leading to a very pitiable situation for them,” Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai said.
The situation, he said, is also aggravated due to the lack of proper logistic supports in the region.
He was speaking at a Workshop on MSTC’s vision for the North-East Region for Promotion of Agri-Forest Produce in Guwahati on Friday.
The minister appreciated MSTC’s vision towards developing an ecosystem bringing all the enabling partners such as North-Eastern Regional Agriculture and Marketing Corporation Ltd. (NERAMAC), Central Railside Warehousing Corporation (CRWC), Packaging Company and Inland Waterways Authority (IWA).
“The above ecosystem will not only improve the financial status of the growers but also prevent the crops from colossal wastage and make niche products available to the rest of the country. This collaborative effort may play an important role as envisaged in the government policy for the development of the North-East region,” he said.
In order to provide direct market access to the growers of the North-East and also effective co-ordination and required services amongst the above agencies, MSTC has recently opened an office at Guwahati, which will be a nodal point to cater to the needs of all the sister states of the region. MSTC, a PSU under the steel ministry, has also been rendering services to the oil marketing companies and paramilitary forces including defence in this region since long.
In addition, MSTC is focussing on all the state government departments of North-East states to provide e-commerce services.
To increase its presence and services in the North-East, the Minister of State for Steel has advised MSTC to waive of the registration fees charged to the new buyers in the region to increase its buyer base and help in reaping the benefits of the e-commerce services. (PTI)