Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will virtually inaugurate two new farmers’ markets at Pallikonda and Pernambut towns in Vellore on September 4 to provide a common platform for farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers.
The new facilities are part of a long-standing list of demands from farmers and residents in the Anaicut region, covering around 70 villages along Jawadhu Hills in Vellore. “At present, we sell our produce to common markets in Vellore and Gudiyatham towns through middlemen after paying a commission to them. Now, we can sell directly to consumers at the new market, depending on harvest,” said K. Munusamy, a farmer in Pallikonda.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture said that the new markets have been built at the centre of the town on government land to ensure easy accessibility for farmers and consumers. Each market has 16 shops, with each shop being given to three farmers to sell their produce on a rotational basis because harvest varies from one farmland to another. The cost of the markets is ₹57.83 lakh in Pallikonda and ₹75 lakh in Pernambut.
