Punjab CM asks Markfed to buy 300 tonnes of potatoes for mid-day meals
Mid-day meals Markfed buy 300 tonnes potatoes · MOVE AIMED AT HELPING DISTRESSED POTATO GROWERS IN THE STATE Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has directed Markfed to immediately procure 300 tonnes of potatoes for school mid-day meals, in order to help out the distressed potato farmers of the state. The chief minister has asked Marked, Asia’s largest marketing cooperative federation, to purchase the potatoes on `no profit no loss’ basis to bail out the potato growers from the crisis they were facing as a result of the low prices of the commodity prevailing across the state. The Agriculture department has already issued an advisory to the Departments of Education and Jails for optimum utilization of potatoes in the mid-day meal scheme and for the consumption of jail inmates for rich nourishment besides other government institutions, which would also boost the sale of potatoes in the state. A spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said Captain Amarinder had also directed state agencies such as Marked and Punjab Agro to formulate a comprehensive strategy to provide marketing support to potato growers in terms of remunerative prices and other facilities. —PTC News
