In Pune, farmers participate in the weekly farmers’ markets which allows direct reach to the customers. File photo for representational purposes In Pune, farmers participate in the weekly farmers’ markets which allows direct reach to the customers. File photo for representational purposes

In order to reach out to their customers directly and take up home delivery of fruits and vegetables, farmers in the state would soon get to explore various electronic platforms, including an app-based delivery system.

Shriram Gadve, president of the Vegetable Growers’ Association of India (VGAI), said that various Farmers’ Producer Companies and Small Farmer Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) would also take up alternative initiatives to reach out directly to customers.

Delisting fruits and vegetables from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) has now allowed farmers to sell their wares anywhere in the state. The state government feels that this would now allow alternate market channels for farmers and break the monopoly of APMCs.

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While farmers have welcomed the move, traders and commission agents have opposed it, as a result of which all 302 APMCs in the state would remain shut from Monday. The government has also hinted at creation of alternate market channels for farmers which includes direct-to-home marketing.

In order to explore this opportunity in various ways, Gadve said, “There are plans for us to reach directly to the customers, especially in cities like Mumbai and Pune. In this regard, there are talks of renting out godowns in Mumbai which can serve as the central distribution and collection point for farmers. We are also developing a value chain which would help us reach out to small retailers directly from such collection centres.”

Gadve added that in Pune, farmers participate in the weekly farmers’ markets which allows direct reach to the customers. On an average, farmers see business to the tune of Rs 3-4 lakh on a single day at such markets.

Another avenue which SFAC and various Farmers’ Producer Companies would like to venture into is the e-commerce portal through website and apps. While bigger tech start-ups have already used the app method for perishable products, Gadve said that they would like to do an extensive value addition to their business like selling ready-to-cook or chopped vegetables directly to the homes of customers.

“We would also be introducing grading and sorting at the farm gates which will allow for the best of the produce to reach the consumer end,” Gadve said, adding that they have a time frame of around a year or so to implement the project.

Back in 2012, the Directorate of Marketing had introduced a scheme which had allowed farmers groups to sell their produce directly to housing societies in the city. The scheme had, however, failed to take off properly and had fizzled out. Gadve said that efforts are on to revive the above scheme, now that the APMC Act has been modified.

“There were incidents of vehicles being stopped and farmers not being allowed to do business which had stopped the scheme. Now that the legal hurdles have been cleared, we would revive the scheme,” Gadve said.

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