Bengaluru: With a view to getting more income, farmers are now coming forward through the Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) and selling out produce at the ongoing 'Hunar Haat' in Lucknow, as reported by Swarajya.  

For the first time in the state, FPOs of Rampur and Gonda are selling their products at a national level exhibition. Besides this, their products are also giving competition to multinational companies.

Rampur Krishak FPO (RKFPO) of Rampur district has put up a stall at the ongoing Hunar Haat in Lucknow.

The website added that, at present, there are about 2,000 farmers who are associated with the RKFPO and they are involved in growing in various conventional and non-conventional medicinal crops. These include lemongrass, palm rose, black basil, black salt, organic edible oil, foreign and domestic fruits and vegetables.

After making products from these medicinal crops, the RKFPO sells the remaining in the retail market and gives the profits directly to the farmers.

Through its stall in the Hunar Haat, the RKFPO is selling over 25 products including lemongrass, saffron, olive, honey, cardamom, black wheat, drumstick, black rice, millet, drumstick, organic honey, black salt, etc.

Besides this, the RKFPO has also designed and made a low-cost solar mobile cold storage to help farmers save their produce from decomposing.

The website quoted Amit Verma, president of the RKFPO, as saying, "This could well be an innovative discovery to link farming with technology. The farmers wait in long queues to sell their products at good rates and generally, fearing damage to products, they sell their crops at throw away prices."

The Gonda based Cared Bio Energy Farmer Produce Company (CBEFPO) has also put up a stall at the Hunar Haat and is selling its organic products.

"We are selling products made out of drumsticks as it is useful in about 300 diseases. Besides, we are also offering jaggery and many varieties of lentils like yellow split, red lentil, black gram, etc.," said Sanjay Tiwari, MD of CBEFPO.

The Hunar Haat has been organised in the state capital by the Union Minority Welfare department to showcase the products of local artisans and craftsmen and will be on till February 4.

Indigenous products made by artisans and craftsmen in India are on display in the Hunar Haat and for the first time, products under the "One District One Product" (ODOP) scheme have been included in it.