Organic farmers’ market sees good response

A fresh initiative to promote pesticide-and-fertilizer-free farm produce

A consumer buying organic produce at the farmers' market organised by Iyalvagai in the city on Sunday.

K. Zakir Hussain of Power House was moving around the Coimbatore Corporation's Higher Secondary School, North Coimbatore, around 1 p.m., curiously looking at what was going on.

“I'm here because a lot of people came to my shop, which is near the school, asking for directions. They said there was an organic farmers’ market that was organised at the school.”

When the artificial flower vendor finally visited the market, almost all the produce the 40-odd organic farmers had displayed were sold out.

Mr. Hussain was among the hundreds of customers who had to return either empty handed or with little of what was available if they had gone to the event by noon, by which time the farmers had exhausted their goods.

S. Alageswari of Iyalvagai, an organic farmers’ collective, said Coimbatore's response had been tremendous though this was the collective's first such initiative in the city. It had been running a similar farmers' market in Tirupur for about four months now.

The objective was to provide pesticide-and-fertilizer -free vegetables, fruits, cereals, millets, minor millets, food ingredients and then slowly draw people from being food consumers to producers. The farmers who had drawn inspiration from organic farming scientist G. Nammalvar had come together for the market and the farmers' objective was also to promote produce of native varieties.

It was not just the produce that was organic but the way the farmers sold was also environment friendly, as Iyalvagai and supporting organisations like the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore and Coimbatore Corporation had asked people to take their own bags and containers to buy goods, said R. Raveendran of the association.

For those who did not carry one, there were cloth and paper bags and tins for oil.

Though the market was supposed to open at 10 a.m., customers started walking in by 9.15 a.m., said E. Gandhi, who sold oil.

Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan inaugurated the market. Mr. Raveendran said that with the encouraging response it will be a monthly affair.