Agriculture Minister P. Prasad has said only 12 of the 300-odd stalls of the Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) have been able to make profit. The agency suffered a loss of ₹52.50 lakh the previous fiscal, he informed the Assembly on Thursday.
Responding to questions on the activities being undertaken by Horticorp, Mr. Prasad pointed out the agency directly operated 126 stalls and supplied products through 188 franchises. Of these, only 12 Horticorp-owned stalls have been able to break even.
Professionalism
He said the government had initiated efforts to reconstitute the “overstaffed agency that is heading for a crisis”. To avert such a situation, a grading system has been introduced to enhance productivity and infuse professionalism. While the government has limitations in terminating the services of surplus staff, action will be taken against non-performing employees, he said, adding an expert committee has been tasked with recommending reforms in the corporation.
‘Dues to farmers paid’
Mr. Prasad also said the government has cleared all dues to individual farmers until March 31. An amount of ₹21.25 crore has been disbursed by the government. However, some farmers’ cooperative societies remained to be paid for fruits and vegetables procured from them.
