Govt to collect vegetables directly from farm land

Route maps prepared, APMCs to bear transportation cost

A programme will be launched to collect vegetables directly from farmers’ land on the lines of milk collection done by milk producers unions of Karnataka Milk Federation.

Agricultural Marketing Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi on Saturday, said farmers spent more on transporting vegetables to APMC markets than what they spend on growing them. The government would launch a programme by the end of September under which trucks would visit villages regularly and collect agriculture produces from the farmers.

The programme will be launched on a pilot basis in six districts- Gulbarga, Belgaum, Mysore, Chikkaballapur, Kolar and Bijapur. Vegetables grown in Kolar can be transported to Bangalore city markets. Following a study of the pros and cons of the programme it will be implemented across the State, he said.

No transportation cost

The department has prepared route maps connecting vegetable growing fields in each district. The growers need not pay towards transport expenses as respective APMCs will bear the cost.

The vegetable growers will be identified and will be issued an identity card. On receiving information on availability of vegetables from the growers, vehicles will reach their places and collect agriculture produce, he said.

The minister said his department had begun construction of a market exclusively for potato and onion at Dasanapura on Tumkur Road near Bangalore. It will be developed in 67 acres of land at a cost of Rs 100 crore. The proposed market will avoid hundreds of trucks carrying these vegetables from entering the City. It will consist of a cold storage unit, godown and drain facilities, he added.

Tangadagi said the department would set up seven vegetable markets in different parts of Bangalore on the lines of Yeshwanthpur market. The department would soon identify locations for the markets.

He said fruit and vegetable markets have already been functioning in Yelahanka, Rajanakunte, Anekal and Chandapura. The tender process for construction of a market in Byatarayanapura was stalled twice in the past. The department would call for fresh tenders in a week.