MADURAI
It continues to benefit farmers and consumers alike. The idea for the project stemmed from Madurai. One of the most successful pet projects of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi is the uzhavar santhai or farmers’ market, introduced in 1999. Madurai was privileged to get the first uzhavar santhai of the State at Anna Nagar.
Eighteen years after it came into existence, the sprawling Anna Nagar uzhavar santhai attracts each day at least 5,000 consumers who come there to buy vegetables and fruits from 100-odd farmers.
“It is a win-win business here. Farmers get 15% more price for their produce and consumers pay around 20% less (compared to open market prices) for vegetables,” said its Assistant Administrative Officer S. Asaithambi. Officials of the Department of Agriculture regulate the prices of vegetables and fruits.
“The life of all farmers who came here in 1999 has seen a lot of economic development,” says V. Murugan, 67, of Mavilipatti, who sells tomatoes. This is because the farmers pay no rent for the shop. The government gives them free of cost electronic scale. They get the privilege of transporting their produce free of cost in TNSTC buses.
“At least six buses from different parts of the district come here exclusively for the farmers. We have provided cold storage facility to leave their unsold produce here,” said the market’s Administrative Officer K.P. Masanan. A separate bay for organic produce too has been provided at the market.
Among the 144 registered farmers, at least 100 come every day. “Before the Central Vegetable Market came to nearby Mattuthavani (from near Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple) we used to have shops on the ground (even outside the sheds). However, we still sell between 16,000 to 19,000 kg of vegetables and fruits each day. We get around 7,000 consumers on weekends,” said Mr. Masanan.
“The market introduced by Kalaignar is still successful because both the farmers and consumers stand to gain,” Mr. Murugan said. He said farmers otherwise would have to indulge in distress sale of their produce to middlemen. “Since Anna Nagar is a posh area, we manage to sell all our produce for a remunerative price. The consumers get farm fresh goods,” he said.
Another long-time beneficiary of the market is K. Rajathi, 68, of Melakkal. “In the open market, farmers end up paying huge commission to traders and also need to cough up good amount as transport charges. At uzhavar santhai, we save this money every day,” she said.
Ms. Rajathi, who started selling agricultural produce along with her husband Kasi in 1999, now sells coriander leaves, curry leaves and chillies. “The regular income has helped our family increase our land holding by an additional 1.5 acres in the last 18 years, thanks to the facility introduced by Kalaignar,” she said with a sense of gratitude.
“Many farmers have given good education to their children. Some of their children are engineering graduates,” Mr. Asaithambi said.
The genesis of uzhavar santhai is from Madurai. Chief Minister Karunanidhi formed the Agricultural Produce Marketing Cess Review Committee in 1998. S. Rethinavelu, the then president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as its member, visited several States to study the implementation of cess. Later, when Mr. Rethinavelu met Mr. Karunanidhi to invite him for the platinum jubilee celebration of the chamber, he asked about the visit to other States.
“It was then I explained to him the concept of Apne Mandi in Chandigarh, where farmers sell their produce in towns sitting on tractors. Similar concept prevalent in Andhra Pradesh with sheds for farmers. In both concepts, farmers could directly sell their produce without the help of middlemen,” Mr. Rethinavelu said.
After asking him to prepare a small report immediately, Mr. Karunanidhi made the announcement for uzhavar santhai the same evening. “He announced that the first uzhavar santhai would come up in Madurai on November 14, 1999, the same date we had sought his appointment to open our platinum jubilee auditorium,” Mr. Rethinavelu said.
“The name, uzhavar santhai, was coined by Mr. Karunanidhi. A tall leader, Mr. Karunanidhi had the humility to instantly implement a concept suggested by a citizen. He also had the magnanimity to announce that the project was conceptualised by me at the platinum jubilee celebration,” recalled Mr. Rethinavelu.
Tamil Nadu now has 104 uzhavar santhais.
