New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) French hypermarket chain Carrefour Tuesday launched a programme on the outskirts of the city to train farmers to increase the yield of their crops it will eventually buy for its cash and carry stores.

The first such store will come up in Seelampur in Delhi in a few months' time.

Yannick Douville, Carrefour director, opening a 'green house nursery' at Palla, in north-east Delhi, said the farmers were taught how to improve the quality of their produce and increase their productivity.

'Using some special techniques, farmers can get their produce 15-20 days earlier than the usual. We in turn will buy these fresh produce from the farmers directly at a much better price than what they usually get from the middlemen,' said Douville.

Such nurseries, he said, are good for growing cherry, tomatoes and bell peppers. Each nursery can be used for seven years.

'The concept of green house nursery is very good. The hybrid seeds cost us around Rs.10,000 and we cannot afford to lose them to bad weather -- this nursery will help us protect the crops,' Raj Kumar, a farmer, told IANS.

Carrefour is planning to set up similar nurseries in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Jean Noel Bironneau, general manager of Carrefour group India, said the initiative is aimed at establishing the company's wholesale cash and carry business in which vegetables will be directly supplied to business enterprises such as restaurants, kirana stores and guest houses.