Jaikumar Rawal urges farmers' children to become job creators, not job seekers

The mention of an Agricultural Produce Market Committee has so far brought to mind the arrival, auction and sale of farm produce. But the state government is now trying to give these market committees a new direction toward job creation and entrepreneurship. Marketing minister Jaikumar Rawal has said that instead of chasing jobs, farmers' children should become entrepreneurs who create employment themselves.

As part of this effort, a "Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Rozgar Mahakumbh" will be held at 1,000 locations across the state on the same day and at the same time on September 29, 2026. Around 200 Agricultural Produce Market Committees in the state will take part in this initiative. Separate programmes will be run at the level of each market committee to give young people opportunities in employment, business and skill development.

Against this backdrop, Jaikumar Rawal called a meeting of the chairmen of the market committees. He said during the meeting that market committees should not remain limited to the trading of farm produce alone, but should work to give momentum to the local economy.

Rawal made clear that large-scale employment can be created in several areas related to farm produce, such as processing, storage, transport, logistics, packaging, grading, branding, marketing and export. According to him, young people can be given skill-based opportunities ranging from truck driving to modern logistics and the food processing industry.

He also said that Maharashtra's farm produce should not remain confined to markets within the state, but should reach big cities across the country and the world, and that a strong system needs to be built for this. For this, processing, proper storage, transport, attractive packaging and branding will have to be linked together.

For the Rozgar Mahakumbh, Rawal gave the market committees some important instructions. He said stalls should be set up wherever needed, different industries and employers should be included, opportunities for skill training should be provided, and employment opportunities should be publicised on a large scale.

Skill development minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha also called on the market committees to cooperate with this initiative. Overall, the meeting sent the message that a market committee can become not just a place to sell produce but a major centre for employment, business and the local economy.