Mumbai will soon have another agriculture weekly market at Marine Drive near gymkhanas where farmers can sell their products directly to consumers. The planning department, which has undertaken the initiative, will seek permission from the heritage committee to start the market there.
Also, the consumers in the city will soon have a facility of delivering agriculture products at their door step by the farmers.
After receiving a good response for the first agriculture market in the city at Vidhan Bhavan premises in South Mumbai, the government has finalised an open space opposite Marine Drive near all gymkhanas. The place is even used for saplings’ exhibition.
“We are looking out for the place opposite Marine Drive for agriculture market on weekly basis. We are going to seek permission from the heritage committee as the entire area has heritage status. The open weekly markets by farmers are getting popular and we want the people (and) NGOs to come forward, find spaces and facilitate the farmers. This will benefit the consumers as well as the farmers,” an official from the planning department told The Asian Age.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had inaugurated the first market on Vidhan Bhavan premises in July, an initiative that received a good response. The step was taken after the farmers expressed frustration about the monopoly of APMCs (Agriculture Produce Market Committees) in deciding the price of the products. Also, the middlemen who usually buy products from the farmers and sell to the markets harassed the farmers. In the open markets, the farmers would be selling their produce to the consumers directly, the official added.
Aiming to favour farmers and break the monopoly of APMC, the government is also issuing licences to those willing to do agriculture marketing.
“It is not easy to get a licence in APMC.
So, we have started giving direct licences to the people and institutes willing to sell the agricultural products. We have so far issued 200 licences and given advertisements in the newspapers so that more people can come forward,” the official added.
