Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday stressed on the need for more farmer leaders so that government welfare schemes reach cultivators in villages. He was speaking after inaugurating the Farmer Producer Company Limited in North Goa, which would act as a bridge between farmers and the market.?

Sawant said many of the central government schemes never reach farmers.?“This is why we need more farmer leaders who would take the schemes to the cultivators,” the chief minister said. The Farmer Producer Company Limited has been formed under the National Association for Farmer Producer Organisations (NAFPO).

Sawant said the farmer producer company is a step towards providing benefits to cultivators.?Farmers should be aware of various schemes and should also get the right price for their produce, he said.?“They will not be able to get the benefits till they have their own company,” he said. Goa will have at least 12 farmer producer companies across the state, the Chief Minister said.?

“The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the state agriculture department have taken up the initiative to start these companies in all talukas,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)