Keralam’s Agriculture dept. to step up market intervention during festival seasons, says Minister

The Agriculture department will step up market interventions to prevent artificial price rise and curb the exploitation of farmers and consumers by middlemen during festival seasons and the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, Agriculture Minister T. Siddique has said.

Addressing the media in Kozhikode on Friday (August 28, 2026), Mr. Siddique said the Onasamrudhi farmers’ markets had facilitated efficient marketing of farm produce through a fully digital system. The Kathir app had played a key role in streamlining the process, he said.

Horticorp had cleared payments to farmers for the produce procured from them, except for ₹3.09 lakh due to 202 farmers who faced technical issues. The pending amount would be credited to their accounts within a week, the Minister said.

Over two lakh tonnes of produce procured from farmers were distributed through 2,000 farmers’ markets. Vegetables with a market value of ₹14.25 crore were supplied to 2,94,785 consumers, benefiting 14,212 farmers.