Farm-grown fresh vegetables, cooking oils, homemade organic snacks, assorted millets, and a variety of saplings and dry fruits can be found at the three-day Visakha Organic Mela which began here at the AS Raja Grounds in MVP Colony on Friday.
The programme, being organised by the Gau Aadharitha Prakruthi Vyavasayadarula Sangham, was inaugurated by NABARD Chairman Ch. Govinda Rajulu. Former CBI Joint Director V.V. Lakshminarayana and members of various farmers association attended the programme.
As many as 102 different stalls were set up by entrepreneurs and farmers at the mela, apart from several food stalls. While most of the stalls were from various parts of Visakhapatnam, several organic farmers have come from Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Vijayawada, Guntur and Hyderabad as well. The stall owners explained to visitors how food habits and a sedentary lifestyle affect one’s health, and the advantages of following a traditional healthy lifestyle and good food habits.
There was good demand for food groceries at several stalls. Vanil Organic Food Groceries, from Vizianagaram, sold snack varieties including millet-based, fruit-based, seed and nut-based, and coconut-based foods. The stall owners said that they have brought snacks ranging from ₹2 to ₹200.
City-based ‘Nature’s Wealth’ was offering millets, organic pulses, traditional pickles, spice powders, organic desi rice varities, pooja essentials, and hair and skin products. Vijayawada-based 'Soorya Naturals' saw good demand for eatables and spice powders used in kitchen and general items. Sabbavaram-based 'Jagruthi' team sold pesticide-free organic vegetables.
Organic farmers from Venkataramannagudem of West Godavari are selling strawberry jams prepared from strawberries grown in Lambasingi in Visakhapatnam Agency.
A number of stalls were set up to suggest ideas for farming or taking up terrace garden development. The entrepreneurs are also selling seeds, types of pesticide-free liquids for growing vegetables. Vizianagaram-based Sri Prathima Biotech offered a hamper/kit which includes seeds and powders to develop terrace gardens.
Several entrepreneurs are selling soaps, oils, dry fruits, natural health products, vegetable plants, pain oils, and tea powders.
