Bananas emerge as a lifeline for UP farmer amid Covid-19 pandemic

Lucknow : For Anita Rai of Kushinagar, bananas are more than just a fruit, one that helped her sustain her family when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down all other means of livelihood.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Anita Rai of Kushinagar led a simple life as a housewife, while her husband Rajnarayan Rai successfully ran a poultry farm. Their livelihood was severely hit when the lockdown disrupted the supply chain, leaving the business in ruins.

Faced with uncertainty and no hope for recovery, Anita and her husband knew they had to find a new way to support their family.
In 2022, the couple started exploring different business opportunities.

Anita’s upbringing and education in Chennai exposed her to the value of each part of the plant, from the fruit to the stem, for its various usages. Around the same time, the Yogi government announced bananas as the One District One Product (ODOP) for Kushinagar, which inspired the couple to focus on banana-based products.

Rajnarayan encouraged Anita to take an active role in the venture.
Together, they travelled to South India to visit regions known for banana processing, including the National Research Centre for Banana in Trichy, where they saw over 70 different banana-based products.

Inspired, they returned to Kushinagar and prepared a business plan. Their presentation impressed Anil Shukla, General Manager of the District Industries Center, who further introduced them to DM Anil Kumar Singh and CDO Anand Singh.

The couple received tremendous encouragement and support from the local administration, especially the district’s Aakanksha committee.
With the Yogi government’s ODOP initiative as a catalyst, Anita’s entrepreneurial journey took off.

Though she hasn’t taken any financial aid from the government, she acknowledges that the backing from the administration played a vital role in expanding her business.

Today, her enterprise thrives, with banana products like juice, pickles, flour, vermicelli, and chips gaining recognition across India and abroad.

As a master trainer, Anita has empowered around 600 individuals with skills in banana product processing, generating approximately 2,200 employment days annually.

Today, she leads a team of six women who work daily in her enterprise, creating a sustainable source of local employment.

Her firm has gained widespread recognition for its banana stem juice, known for its medicinal benefits, with demands coming from Odisha, Punjab, Nepal, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Her other banana-based products, such as pickles, flour, vermicelli, and chips, are also highly sought after.

Anita’s zero-waste approach extends beyond juice production; she also crafts savory snacks, flour, vermicelli, and pickles from the banana peel, raw bananas, and banana flowers, ensuring that every part of the fruit is utilized.

Anita’s story is a testament to resilience and the power of government support in transforming lives.