Nisarga Foods                                                                  Newsletter

Small farmers, growing a diverse range of crops, not only ensure their own food security but also ensure that consumers eat wholesome food. Nowadays the farming community has come under pressure to cultivate cash crops in monocultures in place of diverse and nutritious food crops. Frequently this encourages the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides the residues of which remain in the food products. If  the conservation and cultivation of diverse food crops is   to continue and gain momentum, then the support of concerned consumers is vital. In a country like India, strong consumer-farmer links need to be established in order to regain and maintain the economic security of  farmers, the health of the millions and to conserve the country's extensive biodiversity.

With this in mind, GREEN Foundation experimented in linking the farmer with the consumer through a consumer collective. The philosophy of this  collective was such that it made the consumers completely responsible for its functioning.   It was a   no-profit,  no-loss enterprise linking the consumer and farmer directly without involving the middleman in the process.  However, this initiative was very unsuccessful in penetrating the complacent, middle-class living rooms. A slightly altered version of the same is now in operation.