The Azadpur Mandi Sellers

The mandi is a buzz of activity on any given day. Trucks arriving-departing, vegetables being unloaded and moved around. 

At many places selection of good, bad and ugly was happening. The best looking going to posh markets and rest to all middle classes. The ugly ones were discarded for a free for all, i.e. whoever can take or make whatever out of it. The wholesalers look at over-all profit.

In the middle of all this Hulla-Bulla i found one shed a bit more peaceful and a relaxed atmosphere prevailed. I went in and found quite friendly and some people free to talk. It turned out most of these are sellers of local produce, mostly sourced from Yamuna floodplain and neighbouring villages.

Below is the photograph of one: Shri Dhanpat Singh Chouhan

He has been doing this business all hid life and most probably must have inherited from his father. He is a rajput, who had owned many acres of land in the past and owed lineage to famous Prithviraj Chaouhan of Delhi. There were many sellers of similar caste in this particular shed. 

I was a bit surprised, as these people are not traditionally business minded, so asked him the details of the business. Apparently they have 30-40 farmers attached to one seller. The seller provides seeds, loan for fertilizer and diesel, transportation etc and also decides (in mutual consent) what has to be grown for the season. The farmer in turn provides, labour and land. When the produce is sold, seller keeps the commission, plus deducts the loan with interest. Mostly a win win situation for the seller, as he manages the accounts. Also selling i.e. deciding the rates of certain product is in his hands. Though their are risks too for having same crop in abundance, but somehow the system thrives. Sounds quite similar to crop-sharing prevailing among small farmers in Aulinja and most of India.