In an distinctive transfer to assist farmers in an unequal agricultural market, the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS – Collective Leadership) has taken up an initiative to facilitate sale of farm produce directly to consumers in Bengaluru on an experimental foundation.
The first such experiment will begin with a three-day santhe (shandy) at Munivenkatayya Memorial Open Air Theatre in Rajarajeshwarinagar in Bengaluru the place farmers will sell their produce directly to consumers with out the intervention of any middlemen or merchants from April 12 to 14.
Farmers from anyplace in Karnataka can take part in the santhe in the event that they register themselves with the KRRS in advance. The organisers are planning to give precedence for the primary 100 enrolments, as this the primary effort. Apart from greens, the farmers are additionally getting foodgrains, jaggery and oil to sell on the santhe.
Just name KRRS if you need a santhe in your locality
“We want to spread this initiative to all areas of Bengaluru which is a major market. We want to do it with co-operation from consumers and residents’ welfare associations. If interested consumers and residents’ groups contact us, we will arrange for holding such santhes on a regular basis in various parts of Bengaluru,” says KRRS chief Chukki Nanjundaswamy, whose concept is to additional develop this farmer-consumer discussion board.
“The main intention is to bail out farmers from price-crash situations by ensuring remunerative prices while consumers get the benefit of quality produce at affordable prices,” Ms. Chukki informed The Hindu.
This initiative is being taken up as a ‘farmers’ battle’, christened nera maaraatada mulaka namma horata (our battle via direct advertising).
A distorted market
“The farm market is distorted as it neither assures justifiable prices to farmers, nor does it benefit consumers,” she mentioned. “This has pushed farmers into a crisis. About 30 farmers are committing suicide a day in India. In fact, about 85 lakh people have shun agriculture in the country between 2001 and 2011, as per the census report while the latest data is not yet available,” she added.
A file photograph of Chukki Nanjundaswamy, daughter of KRRS founder M.D. Nanjundaswamy, with Rakesh Tikait (proper), Yudhvir Singh (third from proper), and different farmer leaders in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit:
Murali Kumar Ok
She expressed concern that nothing a lot had modified although efforts had been occurring for a number of years to guarantee remunerative costs for farm produce via authorized sanctity for Minimum Support Prices.
“In such a situation, we have been left with no option, but to explore the possibility of creating a direct farmer-to-consumer markets by ourselves. In fact, its an effort to awaken the conscience of consumers and appeal to them to make it a habit to buy directly from farmers so that they can contribute to fighting agrarian crisis, and save farmers,” Ms. Chukki mentioned, whereas declaring that Bengaluru had a sizeable inhabitants that had migrated from rural areas and is aware of the issues of farmers.
“Consumers who can afford can also help farmers in a bigger way by buying the agri produce for needy people. We will distribute such produce among needy people in slum areas,” she mentioned.
Request for promotion
Prominent personalities, together with movies actors, writers and intellectuals, had been being requested to promote this initiative in the curiosity of farmers via movies.
Published – April 09, 2025 02:14 pm IST
