Lok Sabha elections 2024: All aboard the banana train

In Jalgaon district supplier of 70 per cent of Maharashtrarsquos bananas around 30 to 40 per cent of banana harvests are said to be lost postharvest with entire clusters of the fruit going to waste In this depressing scenario the railways have after seven long years restarted trains from Raver station that quickly transport the highlyperishable produce to the north of the countryMicroorganism fungi weather conditions and moisture collectively contribute to the rapid deterioration of banana crops leading them to spoil quickly In Raver bananas epitomise the concept of perishability Approximately 30 to 40 per cent of banana harvests are lost postharvest with entire clusters of bananas going to wasteFarmers have demanded adequate facilities to make profitsDespite these challenges the Raver Lok Sabha constituency spanning six Assembly segments across two districts remains the epicentre of Indiarsquos banana production Over 90 per cent of Jalgaon districtrsquos banana yield originates from this region in KhandeshrdquoAccording to available statistics Jalgaon district contributes to 70 per cent of Maharashtrarsquos production and 11 per cent of the country Then what is going wrongldquoA lot of things Once a banana yield is ready it needs to be sold off or traded immediately One cannot store it in the house or godown It spoils quickly and knowing this one has to sell it off to traders at whatever rates are quoted What is missing in Raver is the required infrastructure and amenities to support the yield as a whole It needs a cold storage facility the quickest ways to transport and all other elements to complete its supply chain This is exactly what is missing from Raverrdquo explained farmer Ashokrao ChoudhariKhandesh supplies 90 per cent of the banana yield in Jalgaon PicsAshish RajeldquoBut who is bothered There is a lot that the government and elected representatives could do but nothing is being done seriously and sustainably A farmer needs a good price for his harvest But with a lack of supporting infrastructure he ends up spending so much just to arrange for its sale that there is nothing left for him in handrdquo says Kishore Ganwani the thirdgeneration member of the Ganwani family the oldest traders and farmers in the business of bananas in RaverldquoMy grandfather Parumal Lilaram Ganwans first got into the business and since then we have been in this industry Raver has good climatic conditions for banana yield however there are a lot of issues due to missing infrastructure and it all affects the banana growers here Take for example the banana train that has been revived from Raver The yield needs to be gathered and reach the station from the interiors for it to be ferried by the train Once it reaches its destination it needs to be dispersed to the markets All this has costs The lastmile connectivity leads to more expenses making it unaffordable for an individual farmer and that is why we needed the subsidy which was withdrawnrdquo he explainedldquoA subsidy had been given by the government during the COVID19 pandemic to ferry the farm produce to encourage farmers to use the train It was slowly reduced and is now completely withdrawn We have been meeting the authorities to get the subsidy continued but in vainrdquo he explainedHis brother Harish who moved to Raver to take care of the farms said ldquoBanana plantations need to be carefully curated It needs care and meticulous planning The drip irrigation system has helped immensely Banana has several byproducts and an entire industry can stand if there is enough support from the government But the banana farmer has been left high and dryrdquoRaver Lok Sabha constituency BJP candidate and sitting MP Raksha Khadse said she has been working for farmers in the district ldquoI have also been working on a project submitted to the Horticulture department for cluster development for the fruit It will help in banana exportrdquoldquoAgreed there is so much to do Raver produces the maximum banana yield in the Jalgaon district yet there is nothing to give impetus to the banana farmers here for their growth We need to have allied businesses that can help the banana farmersrdquo Shriram Patil Raver NCP Lok Sabha candidate Shriram Dayaram Patil said