Soon, rythu bazaars to sate your organic food appetite

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam district administration has developed a proposal to launch organic

rythu bazaars

on an experimental basis in the city.

The city has at present two

organic

hotels and demand for organic food items is on the rise.

Discussions are at present underway with stakeholders, including organic vegetable farmers, millet farmers and other producers. The department of civil supplies and marketing plans to introduce the bazaars this summer. Based on the public’s reception to the initiative, organic rythu bazaars may also be introduced in Vijayawada, Tirupati, Kakinada and Rajamundry.

Speaking to TOI, Visakhapatnam joint collector L Shiva Shankar said that initially, two of the 13 rythu bazaars in the city will sell organic vegetables. The bazaars at Seethammadhara and MVP Colony have been selected, in view of the large number of customers they draw.

“We are still negotiating with the stakeholders. I will be able to confirm this project within the next week. We plan to hold these bazaars once every week, every Tuesday at Seethammadhara and every Saturday at MVP Colony,” the joint collector said.

J Kumara Swamy, founder-member of the Andhra Pradesh Organic Farmers’ Welfare Association said that they have requested the government to not include in the proposal persons with political affiliations. He added that they have requested that only genuine organic farmers be allowed to sell produce and to ensure that other districts also adopt the concept of organic rythu bazaars.

On the feasibility of organic rythu bazaars, Kumara Swamy said the district tops in organic farming in the state, with nearly 15 per cent of land devoted to the organic farming of various crops, such as paddy, millets and vegetables.

An official with the agriculture department said mandals such as Chodavaram, Anandapuram, Padmanabha and Payakaraopeta have a high proportion of land under organic farming.

“Farming in some villages is completely organic as farmers have adopted Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) method,” said JV Ratnam, an environmentalist.


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