Farmers from Laxmipur village turned entrepreneurs and started selling rice at cheaper rates to end consumers and are also reaping riches. This sudden change came about as the government failed to procure the fine rice varieties produced by farmers and the traders too refused to provide minimum support price to their produce. Laxmipur farmers set up the Laxmipur Farmers’ Cooperative Society and started selling the ‘Laxmipur’ brand rice in the name of their village. For the last 45 days, the farmers have sold over 350 quintals of rice at much cheaper rates than the market price. ‘Laxmipur’ rice brand is gaining popularity in the district and there are many takers for the fine variety. They also secured orders for supply of another 300 quintals. The Jai Sriram variety of rice is sold at ₹ 3,600 per quintal, HMT variety at ₹ 3,400 per quintal and BPT at ₹ 3,000 per quintal. A Laxma Reddy, promoter of the society, said that on the advise of a retired agricultural officer, they decided to form the cooperative society. The farmers were getting around ₹ 2,500 per quintal of paddy, he said and added that the customers were also very happy with the availability of quality rice. With the brand becoming popular, orders started coming from Warangal, Hyderabad and even Bengaluru. He said that they were planning to sell turmeric, til and other farm produce in the coming season with the slogan - ‘straight from the farms at cheaper rates’.
Govt. support
Following the popularity of ‘Laxmipur’ brand rice District Collector A. Sharath visited the village on Tuesday and interacted with farmers and inquired about the marketing strategies and the returns.
He assured them of all possible measures to provide registration of the village society.
