The Kisan Mandi is being set up for the benefit of those small farmers, who are members of FPOs and GAs.
Small farmers will soon be able to sell fruits and vegetables directly to bulk consumers like organized retailers, hotels and exporters after Centre unveiled a unique 'Kisan Mandi' platform that aims to boost income by eliminating middlemen, as reported by PTI.
With Delhi's daily demand of fruits and vegetables being 15,000 tonnes, the Kisan Mandi -- to be set up in 1.6 acres at Alipur here -- provides an opportunity for small farmers to sell directly to both wholesale and retail consumers.
The new mandi, which would be fully operational in next six months, will be different from Azadpur wholesale market as Farmer Producers Organisations (FPOs) and Growers Associations (GAs) will only keep their sample produce and deliver them directly from their collection centre to buyers once sold.
"We are making efforts to strengthen farmers and the 'Kisan Mandi' is one such initiative towards this direction. This kind of mandi will benefit both farmers and consumers." Union Agriculture Minister
Radha Mohan Singh, who laid the foundation stone and soft, launched the platform told PTI.
At the soft launch, about 20 tonnes of onions were sold to Safal, the largest organized retailer of fruits and vegetables in Delhi and NCR region.
The Kisan Mandi is being set up for the benefit of those small farmers, who are members of FPOs and GAs, promoted by the government body Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).
"This market will be different from Azadpur mandi. Here, FPOs will only keep their sample produce, which will be sold via auction and delivered directly from their collection centre to buyers." Parvesh Sharma, MD, SFAC told PTI.
To ensure better price to farmers, SFAC is promoting setting up of FPOs, which is typically a company consisting only small farmers and producers, but formed under the Indian Companies Act 1956 as amended in 2002.
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