KATHMANDU, MARCH 17
Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Board (KFVMDB) has started making preparations to provide separate stalls to farmers.
For a long time, farmers have been asking the board to arrange separate stalls for them so that they can sell their products directly to the consumers.
The board has now finally started the preparations and has said that the farmers will have separate stalls, said Binod Bhattarai, executive director of the board.
According to him, it was decided to give separate stalls to the farmers after the traders complained that they were not paid a fair price. Stalls are being set up as a test to give farmers easy access to the market.
He express his believe that this decision will motivate the farmers to become more professional and self-reliant. According to him, 12 of the stalls in the market have been set aside for farmers.
Moreover the board is removing unauthorised stalls and planning to allocate them to farmers.
"Eleven stalls will be provided to farmers on first-come, first-served basis," he said.
"One stall will reserved for farmers from remote areas."
The farmers will be able to use the stalls for 20 hours every day. The board is planning to set up the stalls within the next seven days.
"Scattered stalls need to be consolidated in one place, and it will take about a week to manage the staff for the same," he said.
Amid this, the government is also planning to set up nine large vegetable markets across the country. It has been said that there will be separate stalls for farmers, wholesalers and retailers in those markets, which will also be equipped with ATM booths, waste management units, cold storage facilities and pesticide testing units.
New vegetable centres will be set up in Hetauda of Makwanpur, Itahari of Sunsari, Banganga of Kapilvastu, Rangeli of Morang, Bardibas of Mahottari, Birgunj of Parsa, Pokhara of Kaski, Barbardiya of Bardiya and Butwal of Rupandehi.
The Ministry Of Agriculture and Livestock Development has estimated it would cost Rs 6.75 billion to set up the vegetable markets. The ministry has stated that all the vegetable markets will be constructed as per the government's five-year plan.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 18, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
