THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “GAP? Sold out!” the staffer at the Horticorp vegetable shop at Palayam tells you gleefully. By ‘GAP’ he means the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)-certified ‘Kerala brand’ organic farm produce, the big attraction at ‘Vishukkani-2017 - this year’s Vishu vegetable market.
The branded organic produce has become a hit with discerning customers who are on the look-out for pesticide-free veggies. “The rush for the GAP-certified vegetables began soon after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated Vishukkani-2017 on Tuesday evening.
There was such a heavy rush after the inaugural function. Most of it found takers on Tuesday itself. Whatever was left got sold out by Wednesday morning,” P K Krishnaprasad, who is in charge of the Palayam outlet, said.
Under the GAP section, Horticorp is selling several vegetables including tapioca, amaranthus, string beans, cucumber, salad cucumber, snake gourd and chilli. GAP-certified vegetables are grown under the supervision of Agriculture Department officers.
The brand, though launched earlier, is being marketed on such a wide scale from this festival season onwards. Although it was inaugurated on Tuesday, Vishukkani-2017 was planned as a two-day affair on Wednesday and Thursday to help Vishu-Easter shoppers. Across Kerala, the Agriculture Department hopes to sell 2,347 tonnes of GAP-certified produce this festival season.
Horticorp stalls have categorised the vegetables and fruits into three sections; GAP, vegetables grown in Kerala and those from outside.
“Customers specifically ask for vegetables grown in the state. But vegetables like beans and carrot brought in from outside are also in high demand,” Krishnaprasad said. In all, the Agriculture Department has opened 1,090 stalls across the state with the assistance of Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp), Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council, Keralam (VFPCK) and farmers.
Money wise, Vishukkani-2017 is designed to be a win-win situation for both farmers and the public, Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar said on Tuesday. The department procures local produce from farmers at prices ten percent higher than the market price and sells it to the public at up to 30 percent reduced prices.