Farmers belonging to the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene have sought support price for horticultural farmers to bail them out of crisis due to the vagaries of the market.
They have also called for shoring up the facilities at the APMC yard and rectifying the anomalies in weights and measures which, the farmers alleged, results in losses.
The authorities have been given 30 days to announce the measures to meet their demands failing which the farmers have threatened to lay siege to the APMC market in the city.
This was decided at a farmers’ convention held at the APMC yard on Friday and their main grouse was the failure of the government to create a robust system to arrest the frequent crash in prices of vegetables.
Badagalpura Nagendra of the KRRS said that the government should announce a minimum support price of Rs. 25 per kg for vegetables and ensure a direct linage with food processing industries.
“The dalals or agents corner most of the money due to the farmers by way of hefty commissions and the cultivators are in their clutches,” said Mr. Nagendra.
He said the government should also conceive concepts like mobile market to ensure that vegetables reach directly to the doors of the consumers. The KRRS and Hasiru Sene also demanded better transportation facilities to access distant markets besides creating storage facilities. Besides, arrangements were sought for sale of organic farm products at the APMC yard.
