The market operated in the district headquarters has been closed after locals did not come to sell their products from rural areas. The market was operated with the aim of easily selling vegetables and fruits produced in the village.

The market was started every Saturday near the bus park of the district headquarters from last Chaitra 14. The goal was to bring local products to the consumers, reduce the influence of middlemen and provide fair prices to farmers.

For that, a market management committee was formed under the coordination of Tanka Bahadur Chhetri, ward chairman of Amargadhi-5. Coordination was done with the Agricultural Knowledge Center, the Potato Superzone under the National Agricultural Modernization Program, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other bodies to operate the market. A temporary tent was constructed behind the bus park and farmers were provided with free stalls. Although there was a lot of activity in the beginning, it did not continue.

Although the local level aimed to systematize the marketing of agricultural products, stakeholders said that the plan failed due to low farmer participation. Although the presence of customers in the market was significant, only a few stalls were in operation as farmers did not come with their produce.

Dattaraj Awasthi of Amargadhi-1 said that there was no big problem for farmers to sell vegetables according to the season. According to him, since traders visit the village and purchase their produce, farmers do not have to look for a separate market. However, he said that a systematized market is necessary to strengthen the local agricultural system in the long term.

If a market is to be operated, it should be made systematic, regular and reliable, he said. Narendra Paneru, head of the Agricultural Knowledge Center, stated that the constitution has given the local level the right to run such programs and said that the Agricultural Knowledge Center has played a facilitating role. ‘We coordinated with the ward chairman of Amargadhi-5 and assisted in its operation,’ he said, ‘but the scheme could not be effective as the farmers did not come to the market with their produce.’

According to him, farmers were not interested in coming to the market even though there was no problem in marketing their produce in many agricultural pockets of Dadeldhura. He analyzed that farmers did not feel the need to transport their produce to the market because traders used to go to the fields and buy it.

Paneru admitted that the program could not be effective due to lack of adequate coordination among various stakeholders. He said that preparations are being made to re-include the program in the budget for the coming fiscal year and operate the market in a systematic manner.

Meanwhile, Tanka Bahadur Chhetri, coordinator of the market management committee and ward chairman of Amargadhi-5, said that although the intention of connecting local farmers directly to the market is good, in practice, farmer participation has been weak. ‘We aimed to deliver fresh vegetables and fruits directly to consumers to reduce the tendency of middlemen to go to the villages to pick up the produce and sell it at high prices,’ he said, ‘but the farmers who produce it did not come to the market.’