Pune: The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Pune will develop an advanced processing unit on the Gultekdi Market Yard premises to process agriculture produce purchased from farmers to make various products like puree, pickle and dried vegetables.Officials said there are often situations when prices of farm produce drop sharply because of volatile market situations. In such instances, farmers are forced to sell at very low rates in the wholesale market, thus facing losses. The APMC will ensure tillers get assured costs by purchasing their produce which would be sent to the processing unit.The APMC said the Maharashtra Cooperative Development Corporation was preparing a detailed project report for the unit and it would be ready in one month.One of the directors of APMC Sanoth Nangare said he had submitted a letter to APMC chairman recently urging him to push ahead with the project. He said that if operated successfully, the unit would help the market committee protect farmers’ interests by safeguarding fair prices. Additionally, it will provide an opportunity to APMC to establish a brand under which it can supply products like juice, jelly, jam, dry vegetables, different types of pickles and sauce.Market sources said the prices of vegetables often crash because of high inflow coupled with less demand or damaged crops. Farmers have been demanding for long that a mechanism be built to guarantee proper prices.An official from APMC said, “The processing unit will be a state-of-the-art unit with advanced machinery to process perishable farm produce. The main objective is to provide confirmed prices to farmers. For instance, if the cost of tomatoes drops alarmingly on a given day, the APMC will direct traders to purchase the produce not lower than at a certain rate, ensuring returns to farmers. Some private units are also working on a similar model. The APMC is seeking support from private processing units to execute the project.”
