Farmers’ markets in Tamil Nadu: increasing options for rural producers, improving access for urban consumers

Abstract

This paper describes the organization of farmers’ markets that the state government initiated in most of the towns and cities in Tamil Nadu, South India in 1999. Drawing on research conducted in three districts, it examines these markets’ impact on the most vulnerable stakeholder groups: on the production side, small and marginal farmers, with special attention to farming women; among traders, vegetable headload vendors; and on the consumption side, the residents of low-income neighbourhoods. With the increasing popularity of farmers’ markets in other Indian states and in many other parts of the world, important lessons can be learnt from this experience, especially with regard to some important unintended or unanticipated benefits and costs, to the mechanisms for setting up such markets and to some additional measures which could have broadened and deepened the benefits for the poorest groups.