Mumbai: Aamir Khan’s Paani Foundation To Expand Farmer Cup Across Maharashtra With State Govt Support

Mumbai: By next year, actor Aamir Khan’s Paani Foundation will reach every nook and corner of the state through the Farmer Cup competition. The actor-producer has also joined a high-level committee to oversee the expansion of the Satyameva Jayate Farmer Cup, the state government announced on Tuesday.

Action Plan for Farming

The committee has been asked to prepare an action plan for the expansion of the Farmer Cup, farmer mobilisation for FPOs, wider implementation of the SOPs in the agriculture sector, development of the value chain through the FPOs, climate resilient farming and promotion of organic farming by reducing the usage of chemicals. The committee will also work on an implementation plan of the best agricultural practices and suggest measures to generate funds and training.

It will also coordinate with the other departments to ensure the success of the farmer cup.

At present, the Farmer Cup competition is held across 46 talukas. However, the government now aims to expand it statewide to build a mass movement for strengthening Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), according to a government resolution (GR). The FPO initiative was originally launched by the NDA government at the Centre.

The GR lauds the efforts taken by the Satyameva Jayate Farmer Cup, which has helped the farmers to join hands to improve their overall living standards. It has made a positive effect on 50,000 farmers, and half of the organisations that participate in the Farmer Cup are women, the GR says.

13-Member Panel Formed

The 13-member committee, headed by principal secretary (agriculture) Vikas Chandra Rastogi will have Amir Khan, Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO of the Paani Foundation and Kiran Rao as members besides principal secretary (rural development) Eknath Dawle, Parimal Singh, CEO of the state project on climate resilient agriculture, agriculture commissioner Suraj Mandhre, Dr Sharad Gadakh, vice chancellor of Panjabrao Deshmukh Agriculture University, Rafiq Naikwadi, director in the state agriculture department, Dr Anand Bang, advisor to the CM and Priya Khan, OSD to the CM.

Besides, the committee will have Ameet Chandra of ATE Chandra Foundation and MD, Brain Capital India, and Vilas Shinde, CEO of Sahyadri Farms, Nashik. The committee is expected to submit its first action report in three months.