After a brief lull, the bi-weekly auctioning at the Agricultural Urban Wholesale Market at Vengeri is back with a bang.
For more than a month, farmers in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts have been feeling the pinch owing to the cancellation of the auction for various reasons. It was a double whammy for farmers who were unable to sell their produce owing to H1N1 earlier and now COVID-19. But, the Agriculture Department resumed the auction last week on moderate scale with farmers directly selling their produce. “However, from this week the auctioning has been going in full swing. A dozen farmers from Kozhikode and Malappuram reached here and auctioned their produce at reasonable prices on Monday and Thursday,” said Narayanan Kalpakassery, chairman of Sangha Maithri, an apex body of farmer clubs, and convener of the auction committee.
About five tonnes of raw bananas were sold at ₹35 a kg on Thursday. Besides, yam, snake gourd, bitter gourd, melon, and Indian cucumber were sold. “The system followed at Vengeri is open auction. Farmers bring their produce and auction them by listing out prices. Potential buyers also quote the prices. The produce is then handed over to the highest bidder,” he said.
Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation Limited (Horticorp) procured the unsold vegetables from the farmers and then sold them either in bulk or retail at reasonable rates. Farmers unable to sell mangoes and pineapples at Muthalamada in Palakkad and Vazhakkulam in Ernakulam respectively were also helped through the vegetable market recently, Mr. Narayanan said.
In the coming weeks more farmers and traders would take part in the auction. The auctioning at the wholesale market, which began seven years ago, had helped farmers sell their produce in bulk without middlemen. About 200 farmers of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Palakkad had registered with the Vengeri market, he added.