Farmers' markets moving into department stores becomes a trend: has the original purpose been lost, or is it market expansion?

When farmers' markets operate steadily in various places, they often encounter opportunities to collaborate with department stores and well-known companies. Yang Ju-men of the 248 Agriculture Study Market had his site provided by Pacific Construction from the start, and within just a few years he also set up shop in Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A11 and the Eslite Songyan Store, bringing the earthy scent of rice and soil from the countryside directly into high-end department store counters. The Taitung Xiuming Natural Farming Market, whose members farm rigorously in their fields on ordinary days without using pesticides or fertilizers, carrying themselves with the bearing of practitioners, likewise went into the city to cooperate with Eslite Bookstore and open a farmers' market, attracting a wider customer base.

But at the same time, farmers' markets that champion grassroots, local, direct communication with farmers have also faced doubts about "losing their original intent" and "their ideals going sour." The rapid increase in outdoor farmers' markets has left many farming friends unable to keep up with the circuit, forcing them to hire volunteers to mind the stalls; the department-store-style "farmers' market counters" that open daily employ dedicated staff to run the stalls, making it impossible for farming friends to chat face to face with customers. How to choose between the market's original purpose and market revenue is a test that farmers' markets must face.

Yang Ju-men of the 248 Farmers' Market stressed that if farming friends cannot make money and build recognition, "the farmers' market is just using farmers as a backdrop, achieving fame for a minority of people, and the farming friends are truly pitiable." He believes that those who found farmers' markets should be "capable of improving farmers' circumstances," and setting up counters in department stores is also part of that ideal.

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