Fama plans to reduce role of middlemen to assist farmers, livestrock breeders

The Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) is to focus on reducing the role of middlemen to assist

farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen improve their income.

Fama chairman Tan Sri Badruddin Amiruldin said the move would not only benefit farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen but also consumers as they could enjoy reasonable prices for the products.

"In the past, middlemen were a strong force because the function of Fama at that time had not reached the level of marketing goods due to a lack of infrastructure but now Fama has more than 500 farmers' markets, fresh fruit stalls, agro bazaars, three-wheel motorcycles and K-Shoppes.

"Infrastructure logistics has improved and we can collect the produce directly from the people to be marketed by farmers' market participants," he said after opening the Kedah-level Fama 47th anniversary celebration at the Sungai Petani Fama operations office, here, yesterday.

Badruddin said the focus of Fama at the moment involved farmers and in two months, the effort to reduce the role of middlemen would be extended to fishermen to ensure that the target of reducing the role of middlemen by 60 per cent was achieved.