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 Uttaranchal-based, UA Agrocoop,
recently launched sales of its organically grown apples for the first time in
Chennai. These hand-picked apples straight from the farms were brought to
Chennai on a test basis and the response was amazing, its spokesman said adding
that the entire truck load was sold out in a day.
UA AGROCOOP was founded in
April, 2003 by Benny with a total capital investment of Rs.72 lakh. The company
has taken on lease 2,500 MT Government Cold Storage at Matela and Champawat from
the Government of Uttaranchal. It has also leased 365 acres Horticulture
Research Farm in Nagaland. The lease created history by obtaining rights to
offer government facilities as Collateral Securities. The company commenced
trading and export of fresh fruits in July 2003.
Benny, MD, UA AGROCOOP said,
"We have signed an MOU with Uttaranchal Government to build, operate and
market a 1,000 tonne Apple Collection, Grading and Packing Centre at Naugaon,
Uttarkashi. The Government of Uttaranchal passed a G.O allowing the company to
mortgage the Matela Cold Storage facility to a limit of Rs 100 lakh for a period
of 10 years out of the 15 years of leased period to encourage growing of an
organic ftuits."
He added, "We have more
than 6,500 registered farmers into the Agri business Centre. The company has
created the Enhanced Price Structure (EPS) for farmers in Uttaranchal. The
company has highly trained and skilled personnel, average age of employees is
27."
 Advantage UA AGROCOOP: The
first priority of UA AGROCOOP was to set up satellite procurement centres. These
are in turn connected to the various Pack Houses of UA AGROCOOP where the fruits
are sorted out, graded and packed. They are then shipped to various
destinations. The credit for this goes to the Government of Uttaranchal, where
subsidies are in the form of packaging, ropeways, roads, infrastructure and
training of farmers in the pre and post harvest techniques.
UA AGROCOOP made good profits
within 12 months of commencement The company moved 400 MT of its quality seed
material to North Eastern states after due land preparation and sowed the seeds
by end of March, 2004. The USP of this project is that the above-mentioned
States normally import 3,000 MT of seed every year from Himachal Pradesh and
Punjab.
Organically grown fruit:
Irrigation is by nature herself, the means being snow, rains and mountain
streams. This water that is available through these kinds of sources to the
orchards adds a totally different dimension to the flavour, taste and the look
of the fruits. The fact that this
water contains essential life giving minerals
is well known. The trees are not subjected to pesticides and fertilizers for
enhancing productivity. On the contrary, these orchards in the ranges of the
Himalayas are naturally controlled against pests which is a unique factor in
Uttaranchal.
Even if a farmer should decide
to use pesticides and fertilizers, the terrain of the Himalayas is not easily
navigable. Also, the markets are generally inaccessible and there is no single
point of procurement for traders, Benny pointed out.
RR
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Uttaranchal Organic Apples in Chennai
