Under the Kisan Rail Initiative, the All Kerala Pineapple Farmers' Association, one of the country's largest, has shipped a shipment of pineapples to Delhi for the first time. On Wednesday, the farmers transported a parcel shipment of 2.5 tonnes of 'Vazhakulam' pineapple from Ernakulam South Railway station to Delhi by the Nizamuddin Express.
As north India is one of the biggest markets of Pineapples in the country. The pineapples from Kerala are actually sent to the north in trucks which usually takes 5 days to reach Delhi, however, this time duration has been shortened to 50 hrs (or 2days and 2hrs) due to the utilization of the Indian Kisan Rail scheme. This also ensures that the pineapple keeps its freshness as it's a fruit with a shelf life of only 2-3 days if it's ripe.
James George Thottumariyil, President of the All Kerala Pineapple Farmers' Association Association, also told the reporters that "Thus, we can offer fresh fruits this time to the market and if the experiment succeeds, we have plans to send bigger consignments regularly,"
According to James George thottumariyill the shipment is being transported to Diem Agro LLP, an agribusiness start-up incubated at Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar and financed by the Union Ministry of Agriculture's RKVY-RAFTAAR initiative.
He further stated that the Kerala State Horticulture Mission and the Department of Railways aided the organisation in making this happen. Ever since the Start of the Kisan Rail scheme on the 7th of August 2021 it's been a huge success with the farmers as it helps them to transport large quantities of farm produce without any limit to the other states via the extensive Indian Rail system in little to no time.
With the added benefit of the 50 per cent subsidy on transportation charges of fruits and vegetables given to farmers that utilise this scheme, It's just a golden opportunity for the farmers as it helps them save both time and money while transporting their produce.
In India, a nation where fruits and veggies worth around 8 million US dollars are wasted every year, this transportation scheme with railways that have cold storage installed in them helps in minimising fruits and vegetable wastage too.
