(This story originally appeared in on Jul 03, 2014)

NEW DELHI: The government has drawn up plans to to set up "kisan mandis" (farmer's markets ) which will sell directly to consumers and shut out middlemen, a move aimed at taming stubborn food inflation

The Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium ( SFAC ), an agency of the agriculture ministry, will set up these "mandis" and the first such market will come up in the national capital. It is expected to be in place by September.To begin with, these mandis will sell potato , onions and tomatoes -three vegetables which are used across the country by consumers and prices of which have firmed up recently, prompting the government to act."We expect vegetables in kisan mandis to be at least 20-25% cheaper than current retail prices," Pravesh Sharma, managing director of SFAC said while detailing the plans to source vegetables and fruits from 6 lakh farmers linked to farmers producer organisations. He said these vegetables would graded and sorted before being sold to consumers.Sharma said SFAC has identified a warehouse of NAFED in Delhi to launch the market and will encourage FPO's from Haryana and Punjab to bring in vegetables."A unique feature of the Kisan Mandi will be the opening up of new market segments for direct selling, such as RWAs, online retailers and the hotel and catering industry," Sharma said."There are even plans to convert the 2000-odd Delhi Milk scheme kiosks into mini-vegetable marts, so that supplies can penetrate every nook and corner of the city. If it manages to deliver on its promise, the Kisan Mandi would be a game changer for the supply of fresh produce in the Delhi and NCR area," Sharma said, adding that national plans would be drawn up after the experiment in Delhi.The plan to set up these markets was triggered by the recent decision of the government to delist fruits and vegetables from the monopoly of the Azaadpur market. Untill now farmers and traders had to bring their produce to the Azadpur mandi and navigate a complex web of middlemen and "red tape". The opaque system adds to the price burden for retail consumers and the farmers."With the end of Azadpur's monopoly, anyone can now organize the marketing of fresh produce. SFAC is seeking to be the first to take advantage of this major policy reform and provide an alternate channel of supply to retailers and consumers, while at the same time benefitting farmers through lower intermediation costs and fair practices," Sharma said, adding that later plans include bringing fruits and other vegetables from different states through proposed special trains for these commodities.