Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will virtually inaugurate two new farmers’ markets at Pallikonda and Pernambut towns in Vellore on September 4 to provide a common platform for farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers.
The new facilities are part of a long-standing list of demands from farmers and residents in the Anaicut region, covering around 70 villages along Jawadhu Hills in Vellore. “At present, we sell our produce to common markets in Vellore and Gudiyatham towns through middlemen after paying a commission to them. Now, we can sell directly to consumers at the new market, depending on harvest,” said K. Munusamy, a farmer in Pallikonda.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture said that the new markets have been built at the centre of the town on government land to ensure easy accessibility for farmers and consumers. Each market has 16 shops, with each shop being given to three farmers to sell their produce on a rotational basis because harvest varies from one farmland to another. The cost of the markets is ₹57.83 lakh in Pallikonda and ₹75 lakh in Pernambut.
Around 25 villages in the region cultivate mainly vegetables like tomatoes, ladies finger, brinjal, ginger, green chilies, greens, and bitter gourd. A large tract of farmland also grows groundnuts, bananas, and mangos.
Farmers at the new markets are allowed to sell vegetables, fruits, and tender coconuts. Prices in these markets will be 10 percent less than in the open market. A solar-powered cold storage facility is available at the market in Pallikonda. The markets will be open between 6 a.m. and noon on all days, including Sundays. However, farmers can unload the produce at the market from 4 a.m. onward. Special bus services to these new markets are also arranged for the easy transport of produce by farmers.
Unlike Pallikonda, agricultural officials said Pernambut town is in an arid region at the foot of a hillock. Most of the farmers in the area have been selling their produce at a low price in the Chittoor (AP) market due to the high transportation costs to Vellore town. The new market will be beneficial to farmers in the town. Vellore has had four farmers’ markets in Vellore town (3) and Gudiyatham (1) for more than a decade.
