The Vegetables Growers Association of India estimates that 30% of ready-to-harvest crops have been left to rot during the lockdown. That’s compared to around 5 to 10% typically wasted on Indian farms, according to Sudha Narayanan, an economist at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. But some farmers — and consumers — have found ways to save their crops and keep supplies flowing. Ruchit Garg, who heads an agricultural finance company, launched the Harvesting Farmer Network Twitter handle on April 12, after he saw farmers dumping fresh fruit and vegetables on the roadside. It has since been used to list more than 1,600 tons of fresh produce from thousands of farmers. Each Tweet gives a farmer’s name and contact number, crop, quantity and location.
Initiatives are coming from consumers, too. Less than a week into lockdown, the Residents Welfare Association of Sarjapur in Bengaluru was contacted by local farmers struggling to sell their produce. It gauged interest from its members, helped the farmers get police permission to transport, and the next day the farmers were delivering tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and leafy vegetables to Sarjapur apartment buildings.
Residents wearing facemasks stood in socially distanced queues to buy farm-fresh produce while many local retailers were either shut or low on stock. Even now the lockdown has eased and shops are better stocked, the farmers’ van is still making its rounds.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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