Service provided by MOMA is not for profit earning: K Devdutta
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 16 2021: The service provided by Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) by procuring agricultural produce from farmers and selling them to customer and delivering them to their homes in not being done for profit, but it is a part of the relief work taken up under the leadership of Chief Minister N Biren Singh to ease the problem faced by the public due to the pandemic.

K Devdutta Sharma, Project Director, MOMA said this as a clarification to the statement made by one of the panellist in a discussion programme on one of the local TV channels at a press conference today.

The panellist had alleged that the work done by MOMA was purely a business for profit and it has tainted the image of MOMA which has been working days in and days out without even breaks on Sundays and holidays to provide service to the people of the state.

Such irresponsible statement made on public platform is really unfortunate, he added.

Service provided by MOMA is not for profit earning: K Devdutta

The pandemic had affected farmers as they had no place to sell their produce and the public also had limited source to procure their daily needs.

Many distress calls and appeals were made through social media, print media and electronic media regarding the lost of agricultural produce due to lack of market.

Immediately, Chief Minister N Biren Singh informed the MOMA of Horticulture and Soil Conservation department to take up necessary steps to prevent the lost of agricultural produce and thus the present model of MOMA procuring from farmers and MOMA home delivering the same to customers in its service areas was formed, added K Devdutta Sharma.

The work taken up by MOMA is to ensure that farmers don't lose their profit or produces and also served as a one stop shop for families in Imphal which have limited market access.

Profit was never a part of the service, he clarified.

MOMA procures the products from the farmers at the rate fixed by the Government using Government fund and sell it again to the customers.

K Devdutta Sharma said the statement made by the panellist is really unfortunate and it has undermined the selfless work done by MOMA is such trying times and appealed everyone to find out more about the work done by MOMA before making a statement in the public platform.

He also added that he will also look for any lapses in the working of MOMA and rectify it at the earliest.

Experts have clear knowledge on how much investment is required for cultivation of various vegetables and fruits.

For example cultivation of watermelon in 1 Hectare (1 Pari) cost about 50-60 thousands while selling the produce at just Rs 10/kg will give an earning of about Rs 1, 50,000 .

In addition to this, the watermelon produced of the state is huge while customers are very less and it has very short shelf life.