The trial run of the Farmers’ Trade Market (FTM), the first such initiative of a farmers’ cooperative in the State, begins on Sunday in Wayanad.
The Farmers’ Trade Market of the Brahmagiri Development Society (BDS) aims at online trade of value-added agricultural products by avoiding middlemen and expects to generate profit for farmers, says P. Krishnaprasad, chairman of the society.
The farmers’ own online marketing network will be enabled through enterprise resource planning (ERP) of the BDS. The project has been approved by the State government under its Subhiksha Keralam scheme.
The BDS has set up 10 outlets in the district as a part of the trial run and its products such as Malabar Meat, Wayanad Coffee, and farm chemicals will be made available online to customers.
Customers can purchase the products from their homes using credit or debit cards or by cash on delivery at a charge of ₹30 within five km of the outlets. For those outside the ‘range’, ₹3 will be charged extra for a km.
In the second phase, which will start on November 1, all kinds of food items, including fish, milk, lentils, and vegetables, can be ordered online in the Malabar region.
In the third phase, which is expected to unfold on March 1, 2021, the entire State will be brought under the ambit of the FTM supply network.
In the final phase, individual farmers, Kudumbashree collectives, and farmer cooperatives can reach out to buyers with their products through the network, he said.
C.K. Saseendran, MLA, will inaugurate the trial run at 10 30 a.m. on Sunday via videoconferencing.
