Win-win for vegetable growers, customers as farmers’ market benefits traction
It has turned into a regular job for Mohammad Monir Hossain.
Every Thursday evening, the small farmer from Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, loads his harvested vegetables onto a refrigerated van of the Department of Agricultural Advertising (DAM) along with a few of his peers.
The van arrives at the Bangladesh Agricultural Production Company (BADC) in the Manik Mia Avenue of the capital prior to the dawn breaks.
Hossain and his fellow farmers reach the same place in the future each morning to unload and display their fresh manufacture to customers.
This is the Farmers' Market where Hossain has been coming with his fresh vegetables since the agriculture ministry opened it in December 2019.
The idea was to make a place for growers who produce vegetables and seasonal fruits following integrated pest administration (IPM) approach, a way of crop production and protection that combines various control strategies and practices to grow healthy crops and minimise the utilization of pesticides.
Managed by the DAM, farmers exactly who produce vegetables by pursuing IPM techniques, incorporating bio-pesticides, get their crops to the marketplace.
The field offices of the DAE certify the vegetables as safe for human being consumption.
The initiative was taken at the same time when concerns about the safety of farm produce are high due to the utilization of chemical pesticides by farmers to safeguard crops from the losses resulting from pest attacks.
"We don't use pesticides harmful for individual health, and fortunately that many customers believe in us," explained Hossain, who makes vegetables on 12 bigha area. He owns 1.5 bigha of property, and the others is rented.
He said customer traffic was gradually increasing in the market, where they sit for just two days - Fridays and Saturdays- weekly.
During the remaining week, he sells vegetables to wholesalers in Karwan Bazar and Rayerbazar of Dhaka. But nobody there cares whether he follows IPM to grow crops.
The only big difference at the Farmers' Marketplace is growers can sell right to retail customers which provide them with better prices.
Touhid Md Rashed Khan, an associate director of the DAM, said farmers received good prices for their manufacture as there have been no middlemen. Customers profit because they get safe fruit and vegetables and seasonal fruits.
Farmers from the surrounding areas of the capital city-Savar, Dhamrai, Manikganj, Munshiganj, and Narsingdi - mainly come to the market with their produce.
In the initial days after the opening of the marketplace, customer's presence have been thin. The turnout acquired tumbled in the early a few months of the coronavirus outbreak in the united states as well.
Sales have begun picking right up from November. On Friday, farmers sold produce worth Tk 3.47 lakh.
"We are actually happy. The wonder of the marketplace is we can sell our farm generate directly to potential buyers," stated Razia Sultana, who possesses been selling vegetables in the market since October this past year.
She said the marketplace allowed farmers to progress prices weighed against what they could get by selling them at the wholesale marketplaces.
"Farmers' market exists in Europe and even on India. The good thing is that we have got one here," explained Sultana, who grows diversified vegetables, incorporating capsicum and rock melon, on the 40-bigha area.
She were able to sell fruit and vegetables worth Tk 5,000 on her first day available in the market. Her product sales average Tk 40,000 through the two-day week now.
"Customers' site visitors and our sales increase once you will see a permanent industry for farmers," she said.
Despite the increasing turnout of customers at the marketplace, the quantity of sales had not been plenty of for Hossain to clear all his vegetables. So, he must sell a few of his make to wholesalers.
"We register good product sales on Fridays. However the presence of purchasers declines the next day. The standard public knows the market," he said.
The DAM plans to establish 64 farmers' markets across the country and has submitted a project proposal to the agriculture ministry to the effect, said DAM Director-General Mohammad Yousuf.
As a non permanent solution, the agency will probably create makeshifts markets in 20 districts.
In Dhaka, it is along the way of constructing a everlasting structure at Manik Mia Avenue to ensure that 20 to 25 farmers can display their produce all around the week.
