KOZHIKODE: Despite the high price, more people go for organic farm products which are believed to be free of pesticides. They include vegetables, pulses, cereals, fruits and rice. Among the rice varieties the Gandhakashala rice and Basmati are preferred in the market.
Organic vegetables, including carrot, onions, tomato, potato, lady's finger, beans, ginger, cabbage, carrot and pumpkin are in high demand.
Noted artist Paris Mohan Kumar, who promotes organic farming among tribal communities in Wayanad and Coorg district in Karnataka by ensuring them good price, said that there were only a few farmers other than tribals who pursue 'real' organic farming. "More farmers should take up bio-farming methods which would bring down the price and make the products accessible to more people," he added.
Mr Kumar alleged that many shops were mushrooming claiming to sell organic products.
"The organic food products are being collected from individual farms," said Bijoy Franko, media in-charge, Elements Organic Store. Pioneers in the sale of organic food products, Elements claimed that they collect organic products from small-scale homestead farms.
"We have not collected any products from ordinary farmers who pursue commercialised farming practices," he said.
In the organic products' market, a variety of fruits, including mangoes, also are getting regular customers.
Alfonsa is the leading organic mango type in Kerala. Rice varieties come from Wayanad and Palakkad and from other neighbouring states.
