KOCHI: taking into account the demand for genuine organic products among consumers, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) has come up with an exclusive outlet which provides 25 items from homemade ghee to traditionally-extracted coconut oil in 'Chakku', all under one roof. The one-stop destination for such products- Farm Shoppe - has started functioning at the CMRFI Office near Goshree Junction. In order to ensure the quality of the products sold through its outlet, KVK is procuring the materials directly from the farmer-producer companies.
This according to KVK officers, will not only prevent adulteration of materials by intermediaries but also will ensure good returns to the farmers who produce it. The KVK is producing materials from various Farmer Producers Companies including Periyar valley Spices, Kothamangalam Agriculture Producer Company, Pokkali Farmer Producer Company, Marayoor Hills Agricultural Company and Goshree Food Products.
The produce available with the outlet includes black pepper, cardamom, cloves, coconut oil, cleaned prawns, dry prawn, ghee, chicken egg, nutmegs, boiled rice, honey and turmeric powder."We are in talks with various Farmer Producer Companies outside Kerala including those in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. This will help in procuring items like chilly and spices. The item purchased will be processed here so as to avoid adulteration," said KVK senior scientist and head Shinoj Subramanian.
He said the shop is getting a good initial response with registering an average sales of R15,000 per day. The sales volume will go up when more products are added in the coming days, he said. “We have noticed that there are a good number of premium customers for organic products in Kochi. We hope to add them to our customer base,” added Shinoj.The KVK is also holding discussions with various fishermen groups so as to get daily catches from the sea, which will be sold through Farm Shoppe.
Karinkozhi (Kadaknath)
Recently, the troll world has witnessed several memes related to the sales of Karinkozhi (Kadaknath). The KVK outlet will also offer Kadaknath chicks from its outlets, once in every three months. “Our plan is to sell 45 days old Kadaknath chicks, once in every three months.
The availability of these chicks is limited and breeding of them is difficult. Hence we cannot offer such chicks every day. However, there will be limited sales, that will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. The price of one chick will be R250,” he added.