Bhubaneswar, Jan 14 (PTI) Safal, the Fruit andVegetable (F&V) initiative of National Dairy Development Board(NDDB) subsidiary Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Limited(MDFVPL), today expanded its footprint in Odisha by launchingsix retail outlets in Sambalpur district.
Brand Safal opened the six retail outlets in thewestern Odisha city offering fresh F&V range, Safal valueadded range, Dhara edible oils and Mother Dairy range of milkproducts. These outlets were inaugurated on the auspiciousoccasion of Makar Sankranti following success in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking on the new foray, Dilip Rath, chairman ofNDDB, said given its agro-climatic conditions, Odisha hasimmense potential in the F&V sector.
"However, over the last few years, the productionof key crops is on a decline. With our entry into Sambalpur,we hope to cheer both the farmers and consumers by bringingthem on a single platform," he said"Brand Safal through its entry into the region, willalso embark upon on-ground agronomic intervention with farmersfor key horticulture crops. These initiatives are aimed toencourage the farmers to enhance their cultivation and theproduction/yield by way of providing training and advising ongood agriculture practices," said Rath.
Initially, locally grown fruits and vegetables such asguava, brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, lobiya, green chillies,okra, cucumber and leafy vegetables will be directly sourcedfrom FPO (Farmer Producer Organisation)/farmers supported byORMAS (Odisha Rural Development And Marketing Society).
Going ahead, Safal will be also engaging farmers byway of agronomic interventions for key crops intended atenhancing production and promote Farmer Producer Organisations(FPOs) in the region that aims to streamline qualityprocurement.
Brand Safal is committed to offer safe, natural andfresh produce at competitive prices to its consumers throughits network of outlets.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeev Khanna, ManagingDirector, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd, saidSambalpur region has various agriculture friendly facilities,a good consumer base and farmers who are already engaged incultivation of paddy and vegetables.
Efforts in providing market linkage to the localgrowers and giving them remunerative price for their producewill give a fillip to the productivity and production of F&Vin the region, he said.
Safal entered Odisha in July 2017 with the launch ofits retail operations in Bhubaneswar and today has a strengthof nine outlets in the city. PTI SKNRG.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.