Fruit growers in rural Maharashtra have come up with an innovative ¡®movement¡¯ to promote fresh fruit cakes as an option that is healthier, instead of the traditional bakery-made cakes, to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions, as per a PTI report.??
According to farmers and agrarian experts, the aim is?to encourage farmers to increase the intake of fruits in their diet and sell their produce in a new way amid the COVID Pandemic.
As part of the movement, farmers, their families and various organisations of cultivators are encouraging cakes made locally using fruits like watermelon, muskmelon, grapes, orange, pineapple and banana while celebrating special events.
Deepak Chavan, a Pune-based agriculture analyst, told PTI that of late, the production of fruits in several regions of the state has increased, leading to a surplus supply in markets and causing a drop in the prices of fruits.?
Farmers have already suffered due to the lockdown and now due to surplus supply, traders are purchasing their produce at lower rates, he said.?
¡°As a solution, farmers have started this innovative movement on social media where cakes made of fresh fruits are being used to celebrate birthdays, marriage anniversaries and other events,¡± Chavan said.
Generally, it has been seen that fruit cultivators and their families do not consume adequate fruits as part of their diet, he said.
¡°The movement is serving the right purpose as farmers and their families are now consuming fruits on different occasions in the form of fresh fruit cakes. These cakes are far better than the bakery-made cakes which have less nutritional value,¡± he said.?