Through the farmers` markets, producer farmers are expected to market their products directly to the consumers so that they would be able to increase their bargaining power
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Agriculture Ministry will develop six more farmers` markets in an effort to increase their bargaining power by bringing them closer to consumers, a senior official said.

Director General for Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products (P2HP), Zaenal Bachruddin said here on Sunday that the six units of farmers markets would be built in North Sumatra`s Pematang Siantar city, Riau`s capital city of Pekanbaru, West Java`s district town of Garut, South Kalimantan`s Balangan district, and Lombok Barat and Subawa districts of West Nusa Tenggara.

"Through the farmers` markets, producer farmers are expected to market their products directly to the consumers so that they would be able to increase their bargaining power," the director general said.

He said that Indonesia had begun to develop farmers markets in 2007 with the construction of the Farmers Market Central Office at the Ministry of Agriculture as a farmers market pioneer project in the country.

Zaenal said that up to 2010, the ministry had built 32 units of farmers markets in 16 provinces in Indonesia, namely in North Sumatra, Riau province, South Sumatra province, Banten province, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java.

Besides that, similar markets have also been developed in Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and Papua.

He acknowledged that although the program had entered the fourth year, the presence of farmers markets had not yet functioned well as expected.

"We face several constrains such as selection of locations which are not too appropriate, and the lack of support from various parties," he said.

He said that in 2011, the farmers markets are being revitalized where guidance, technical assistance, business meeting, facility and capital reinforcement, promotion and monitoring as well as reporting system are being provided.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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