From Pongal day, health conscious residents of the city, who take a walk along the Race Course Road, have an additional reason to cheer. A stall manned by two physically-challenged people offers them farm fresh organic vegetables. These vegetables are plucked from fields as far as Udamalpet the previous evening and transported to Madurai to be available at outlets in south Tamil Nadu and Kerala at highly competitive prices.
The organic vegetable outlet is one of the many plans under an initiative, Pagirvu, to blow the myth that organic food is costly. Pagirvu (literally meaning sharing), a movement started in June, aims to bring organic vegetables to the dining table at a very affordable price, even while paying the farmer more than remunerative price.
"If we are to promote organic farming in a big way, we need to assure attractive prices for farmers and not just play with sentiments," says N. T. Prashanth Kumar, the prime mover behind Pagirvu. The arrangement has been worked out with good economic sense. Logistic support for transporting vegetables from farms is provided by Pothy's, a leading textile chain, which also sells the vegetables through its outlets.
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"We procure vegetables from farmers at wholesale prices prevailing in the Madurai market. We do not charge any commission like agents. An attractive price, combined with no transportation cost and no commission, multiplies the profit margin of farmers," says Mr. Prashanth.
Farmers show disinterest in growing organic vegetables as they do not have direct marketing facilities for these niche products and the returns are low. For the consumer, organic vegetables are available only at high end outlets. "We want to introduce a good food culture among all sections of people by ensuring availability all through the year," says Mr. Prashanth. The attraction for the consumer is that one need not pay a premium to buy organic vegetables.
"Super market chains sell vegetables with 'organic' tag but charge high prices. But Pagirvu fixes the rates of organic vegetables almost equal to non-organic vegetables," says P. Deepak, a dentist. For S. Pradeepa, an organic farmer in Periakottai village of Dindigul district, a regular supplier, the fact that she is able to push her vegetables directly to many dining tables is a matter of pride. “I raise my crops meticulously without using any chemical fertilizer or pesticide,” she says.
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Now that they have an assured market, their faith in organic farming can be sustained, says Pamayyan, an expert in organic farming. Efforts are on to get organic certification for the vegetables and to market them with a brand name.
Amidst growing demand, an average of 1.5 tonnes of organic vegetables are procured per day for sale. Many philanthropists with social awareness have come forward to offer space in different places of the city for organic vegetable counters.
Housewives like Muneeswari of P and T Nagar are keen to sell these vegetables from home, albeit in a small way.Pagirvu plans to start a least 10 more outlets by February. Talking about the outlet near the MGR Stadium, J. Ranjith Kumar, a paralympian, feels that such outlets are ideally suited for physically challenged people as they have to only sit at a place from 6.30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
"Ours is a business model and not a business," says Mr. Prashanth.