Market Uzhavar Sandhya for farmers

After living in Chennai for years, Damayanti, a housewife at the age of 40, is not happy about relocating to Hosur. But one thing that has impressed him in Hosur is the Uzhavar Sandhai (Farmers Market), a platform to connect farmers and consumers. “I get fresh vegetables at cheap prices,” she says in a bustling market on a weekday. Another consumer from Hosur reported that “you save at least 5% in cost.”

Started in January 2000, Hosur Uzhavar Sandhya was one of the first markets established by the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Agribusiness, which comes under the Department of Agriculture. It is one of the major functional Uzhavar treaties. On an average, it handles about 47.7 tonnes of vegetables and attracts around 5,900 consumers every day. According to official figures for the first half of the current financial year, it is one of the three markets with daily transactions in the range of ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh. The others are Singanallur and RS Puram in Coimbatore district. However, Tiruppur Dakshin Uzhavar Sandhya tops the list of 181 markets across the state with daily arrivals of around 92 tonnes of vegetables and Rs 24 lakh in sales.

Sunguvar Chhatram’s market near Sriperumpudur, which remains deserted on Tuesdays. , photo credit: The Hindu

Naval officer RK Sharma has been visiting Nanganallur Uzhavar Treaty for eight years. “Regularly, I compare sandhya quality and prices with the private market. I am completely satisfied with what I get here.” Of course, Sandhya in Nanganallur is modest: it gets around 3.6 tonnes of vegetables daily and sales are a little over Rs 1 lakh. Unlike Hosur, where at least 220 farmers Now, Nanganallur Uzhavar Sandhai has no farmers to support it. It is managed by members of Pavalamalli Self Help Group. Effectively, nine persons are part of Uzhavar Sandhai, who buy vegetables from big markets including Koyambedu Wholesale Market It is not difficult to ascertain the reasons for the absence of farmers. “The impact of urbanization is such that you do not find any farmers in the vicinity of Nanganallur,” says an official.

V. Shanti, who has been selling vegetables in Nanganallur for 12 years and heads the SHG, says she goes to Koyambedu in the early hours of the day so that she can start selling vegetables in Nanganallur by 7 am. Apart from her husband’s support, she does not get any help from her three sons, two of whom are engineering graduates. But what bothers her more is the thinness she has been experiencing for more than two years. “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, sales have dropped significantly. Before the pandemic, daily earnings were always more than ₹10,000. Now, they are reduced by at least ₹3,000,” she says.

better environment

Nanganallur Uzhavar Sandhai is not alone in this plight. The story is the same in at least half of these markets, whose average daily sales fall in the ₹1 lakh- ₹5 lakh slab. In terms of trade volume, it is one of the 47 Uzhavar treaties that receive less than 5 tonnes of vegetables a day. Slightly better than Nanganallur at Pallavaram, about 7 km to the south. But the treaty sports a better environment with the provision of paved roads and car parking. This is the reason why a local jeweler, Navratan, has been visiting Pallavaram Sandhya since its inception in November 2000. Interestingly, Pallavaram was the 100th in the series and was declared open by the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who had inaugurated earlier. Exactly a year ago in Anna Nagar, Madurai. Be it Hosur or Pallavaram, many Uzhavars are regular customers among sandhai’s hostels, restaurants and canteens.

Farmers say that the treaty serves more than one purpose. Kubendran, who lives in Arcot town and manages 16 acres of land in Malaimedu village, about 15 km from the city, has been supplying vegetables to Ranipet for the past six years. His profit ranges from 5% to 20%. M. Bothraj, a farmer who travels 13 km from his village to Dharmapuri Uzhawar Sandhai, has no problem in commuting due to good returns. Wouldn’t it get higher returns in the private retail market? “In that case, I will have to pay rent for my shop, in addition to other monetary contributions to the local community. But, in the Uzhavar Treaty [where farmers do not have to pay rent]I am saving so much,” says the farmer, who has been selling vegetables for the past three years.

In the case of farmer-producer organizations and SHGs, who want to have shops in permanent slots in the evening, the monthly rent is ₹1,000- ₹1,500 and such shops can be 10% of the total. Otherwise, slots are allotted to the farmers from time to time lot by lot. But there are also Uzhavar Sandhais who do not justify their existence in terms of the value of the arrival, preservation and trade of vegetables. A visit to a market in Sunguvar Chatram near Sriperumpudur on Tuesday was quite revealing – it was deserted. “If you come on Wednesday, you’ll find a lot of people this evening,” local officials said quickly.

Earlier this week, only a few consumers could be seen at Royapettah Uzhavar Sandhai, a land near Charmpet. One strange feature is that no farmer is seen selling vegetables. “They come here from places like Padappai and Thirukazhukundram around 11 a.m. or noon,” says a person in charge of market security. There are eight farmers who supply their produce. They say that they divide the daily earnings equally among themselves. According to an estimate, there are 16 Uzhavar Sandhais, who earn less than ₹50,000 a day. Thirukazhukundram in Chengalpattu district and Jeyankondam in Ariyalur did not even do a daily business of ₹10,000 in the first half of this year. Only one or two farmers participate in the Jeyankondam market and the one in neighboring Ariyalur. In fact, they are backward everywhere in the state. There has been a call for all this to be closely scrutinized by the authorities who have started a program to revamp the scheme.

Aware of the loopholes in the scheme and emerging challenges such as the online grocery sector, the government, which is focusing more on Uzhawar Sandhai with the DMK returning to power in May 2021, has drawn up a plan to strengthen the scheme. , One of the 10 additional treaties to be opened – Thalwadi in Erode – was commissioned by Chief Minister MK Stalin. Nine more will start operations in a month or two. 50 Sandhyas have been renovated at a cost of 12.5 crores. All work has been completed. However, in Cuddalore, as construction of additional shops and restructuring of existing shops is in progress, the market will be ready in a month.

Digital boards displaying prices have been put up on 20 evenings, and the rest will be covered by the end of November. Cashless transactions are happening at many places. To meet the needs of office-goers, Uzhavar sanctuaries have been allowed to work even in the evening; This system is being tried in nine districts. The sale of non-perishable items like millets, value added products, mushrooms and eggs is permitted. Attention is given to those areas where there is less arrival of vegetables. On every Saturday, the officials of Agriculture Marketing and Agribusiness Department and Horticulture Department go from source to village to find out the problems.

Composting Units Ready

Composting units are being set up at many places to solve the problem of storage of vegetable waste. In Ranipet, a unit is to be inaugurated at a cost of 11 lakhs. In addition, a drive is underway to get certification from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to declare all evenings a clean and fresh fruit and vegetable market. In August, the first Uzhavar Sandhai in Madurai – Anna Nagar – became the first in the state to receive the certificate. Since then, many have received it.

Officials are prompting farmers to adopt different methods of marketing, including home delivery, a trend that has gained currency in the years since the pandemic. This is happening unofficially in Pallavaram. As a sequel to the announcement in the Agriculture Budget last year, officials are finalizing a plan to sell vegetables and fruits on vehicles in Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruchi, Tiruppur and Tiruvallur districts at a cost of ₹60. Lakh. Under this scheme, rural youth will be provided a subsidy of 40% of the cost of the vehicle or ₹ 2 lakh, whichever is less, to buy a vehicle. The construction work of 20 vehicles has been completed.

Above all, the government has ambitious plans to enter the online segment through the launch of e-Uzhavar Sandhi by involving farmer-producer organizations and start-ups. Using the recently revamped Ambattur Uzhavar Pact, officials are planning to cover areas including Anna Nagar and Mogpayer through mobile service.

Even as all measures are being taken to fine-tune their functioning, the markets continue to face issues of cleanliness, location and sustainability. Not all vegetable sellers are farmers. There is a class of traders who have managed to be a part of the overall system. An official says that recently there was a protest against the campaign to remove such people at Sooramangalam in Salem. M. Thiagarajan, president of the Koyambedu Vegetable, Fruit and Flower Market Shop Owners Welfare Association, feels that the prices in Uzhavar Sandhai may still be set low and farmers should follow what is happening in private wholesale and retail markets. Need to. “Uzhavar Sandhai has great potential to improve its operations.”

This businessman is not alone in feeling the need for a bigger role for Uzhawar Sandhai. Damayanti and Sharma know this all too well because after all they are among the three lakh consumers served by Sandhya daily to 7,500 farmers by receiving about 1,900 tonnes of vegetables and fruits per day and earning Rs 6.5 crore in sales. ensure their livelihood. These consumers are keen that the space in these markets is being enjoyed and grown.