Kapurthala: Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Deepti Uppal, IAS,
inaugurated Punjab's first NAFED Bazaar store in
the city. The outlet has been set up by India's largest and most premier
central government owned agricultural conglomerate - National Agricultural
Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) in association with Seedstart
Retail. NAFED Bazaar's operations will be taken care of by a young and dynamic
woman entrepreneur - London based NRI Gurbani
Mehta, who’s startup Seedstart Retail is NAFED's channel partner for Punjab.
 |
| Gurbani Mehta, MD of Seedstart Retail (Left) showcasing the products to Deepti Uppal, DC, Kapurthala during the inauguration of NAFED Bazaar in Kapurthala |
The
inaugural event was virtually attended by Sanjeev Kumar Chaddha, IFS, MD
(NAFED) and K. Siva Prasad, IAS, Principal Secretary of Transport and Local
Self Government, Punjab. “It is heartening indeed that NAFED and
Seedstart Retail have come together to initiate NAFED Bazaars to help farmers
enhance their incomes, as the chain of middlemen will be drastically reduced
under this model. Through this outlet, job opportunities for locals will also
be created,” said Uppal.
Gurbani Mehta while talking to media persons
said, “The core vision of NAFED Bazaar in Punjab
is to become the first true 'farm-to-fork' platform in the state. The idea is
to become a bridge between farmers, manufacturers of small time all India brands
and consumers of the state. The Kapurthala NAFED Bazaar will provide quality
NAFED and other agro-based products to consumers at near wholesale prices.”
She revealed that her team would also train
underprivileged and physically challenged people and will involve at least one
such staff member at each store of NAFED Bazaar in Punjab,
to support them and their community at large.
Gurbani said further, “I have seen the struggle
that farmers have to go through to get their produce sold in the open
market. NAFED Bazaar will present an entrepreneurial opportunity to the
current generation of farmers too, where they can experiment out of their
comfort zone of just being producers to being manufacturers also. We would want
young farmers of Punjab to enter the competitive market with agricultural
allied products and become successful owners of their own brands that can be
sold across India
in NAFED Bazaars.”
Added Gurbani, "My experience in London has gotten me up
close and personal with smaller brands that do not have a level playing field
as far as market opportunities are concerned against giant brands, which
monopolize shelf spaces. This prompted me to create a platform for smaller
agri-brands in Punjab in association with
NAFED."
Gurbani informed that she always wanted to come
back to her roots in India
and Punjab was really close to her heart. She
said that this venture will give her a chance to help Punjab
farmers.
Providing details of NAFED Bazaar's expansion
plans in Punjab, she said, “We are aiming for
at least 50 more NAFED Bazaar's in the state. Apart from Kapurthala, special
attention shall be given to the cities of Ludhiana,
Jalandhar and Amritsar.
We are very keen to reach out to smaller towns of Punjab
as well. We might work on a different model there.” BW
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