Newly opened market to increase farmers’ bargaining power

Apr 15, 2019 News

Farmers around the country are being given the opportunity to participate in competitive pricing for their produce with the establishment of a Farmers’ Market, located at Lots 5-7 Lombard Street, Georgetown.
The market, which opened its doors on March 01, last, will hopefully increase the bargaining power of small, medium and large scale farmers.
Proprietor of the market, Madonna Singh explained that most of her family members are farmers, who are sometimes forced to sell their hard earned produce for little or nothing—all because they had no means of selling their fruits and vegetables directly to customers.

Some of the pallets available for daily rental

Singh said that her business will, “provide a solution to farmers who don’t have a place to sell and also to give them the opportunity to finally have a bargaining power and get the price they deserve for their produce. It is exclusively for farmers.”
Now, the businesswoman is providing farmers with the opportunity to meet directly with the customers and bargain for the most reasonable price for their crops. A 39×47 inch pallet with two shelves can be rented for as little as $1,000 a day.
“This is a great opportunity. The facility is clean all the time and these farmers don’t have to be in the sun. There is a washroom facility and soon, I will be investing in a cold storage facility so they (farmers) can store their produce,” Singh said.
She added that some farmers can sell their crops once or twice a week at her facility and spend the remaining days in their farm. “You don’t have to come every day. You can come once or twice a week—depending on what you have to sell.”
Meanwhile, the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI)’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Oudho Homenauth said that the farmers’ market is a good initiative since there is no such facility in and around Georgetown.
“It provides protection from the hot weather and rain so you won’t have so much spoilage. In terms of display, there is a place to make sure the produce that are there are properly displayed and it will allow persons especially who are involve in the hospitality/catering business to access their supplies directly from the farmers,” NAREI’s CEO said.
He further explained that the prices at the Farmers’ Market will be more competitive than what is being sold out there by the vendors. “The produce will be fresher because it is from the farm to market place and there will be good bargaining power.”
The CEO is encouraging farmers to support the newly opened Farmers’ Market.

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