Farmers’ tomatoes should also be purchased according to their weight: Dr. Tanwar

Himachal Kisan Sabha has welcomed the effort of the state government to issue notification of universal cartons for apple packaging. State President of Kisan Sabha, Dr. Kuldeep Tanwar said in the statement issued on Tuesday that with the issuance of notification of Universal Carton, farmers especially of apple producing areas will get relief from middlemen.
Dr. Tanwar has demanded from the government that on the same lines, as apple boxes are being sold in the markets according to their weight, tomatoes should be bought in the markets according to their weight. He said that a lot of tomatoes are produced in the low-altitude areas of the state. Farmers send their tomato produce to the markets through crates, where instead of the weight of the crate, farmers’ tomatoes are purchased on the basis of bid, which causes loss to the farmers.
He has demanded from the government that just as a special SIT of police has been constituted for apple-producing areas, its jurisdiction should be increased. He said that such an SIT should also be constituted for the sugar-producing areas because crores of rupees of many farmers of Sirmaur district were stolen by the fraud agents of Tamil Nadu and the vehicles coming from other states to carry sugar, due to which the entire year’s hard work of the farmers has gone in vain.
He has also demanded from the government that on the lines of Kerala state, 16 types of vegetables and fruits should be brought under the minimum support price so that the farmers can get a fair price for their produce. They say that many times farmers and gardeners suffer loss by falling prey to middlemen. He said that garlic, ginger, and tomato are produced in large quantities in Sirmaur and many other areas of the state. In such areas, it is very important to have vegetable sub-markets and CA stores so that farmers can store their produce in case there is no fair price in the market.