Taipei Weekend Small Farmer Market Opens, Organic Friendly Farming Attracts Crowds
With the Organic Agriculture Promotion Act now in effect, the agriculture authorities are pushing organic agriculture with more action. This Saturday and Sunday, a weekend small farmer market opens at the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation. From now on, every weekend you can come here to buy organic or friendly-farmed produce from small farmers. Weng Chen-hsin, general manager of the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation, said the small farmer market focuses on fresh vegetables and fruit, supplemented by a small portion of processed agricultural products, and the small farmers who set up stalls each week are different, so you won't get bored even if you come to buy every week.
The Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation is the largest auction market in northern Taiwan, but at the same location there is also the Binjiang Fruit and Vegetable Market, which is dedicated to retail and is a market Taipei residents often visit. In addition, the corporation has set up its own "Nong de Chuanren" store to sell specialty agricultural products, and this weekend small farmer market extends from the Nong de Chuanren store to the parking lot outside. On the opening day of the market there will be 16 small farmer stalls.
The Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation provides stall space to small farmers free of charge, but they must apply in advance, and the agricultural products are limited to those that have obtained organic certification or conform to friendly farming. On the one hand this is to promote organic and friendly farming, and on the other hand it is to conform to the spirit of a food and agriculture education venue. The corporation will review the sales content applied for by small farmers, and will try not to duplicate agricultural products in the same period; for small farmers this means better business, and consumers will also have more choices. Weng Chen-hsin said that because summer weather is hotter, the popular time slots for which applications to set up stalls have currently been received are August and September, and it is expected that no stall fees will be charged before the end of this year.
Weng Chen-hsin said that across the street from the Binjiang Fruit and Vegetable Market is Addiction Aquatic Development, and every weekend and holiday Addiction Aquatic Development draws crowds. They very much look forward to attracting those crowds to Nong de Chuanren and the small farmer market: "Just cross the street and you're there, very close." Everyone is welcome to eat seafood and, while at it, stroll through the small but beautiful organic and friendly farming market.
Besides the weekend small farmer market, the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation has other programs to help market organic agricultural products. Starting in March this year, it expanded cooperation with PX Mart to supply small-packaged organic vegetables and fruit at 174 fresh-food stores in the greater Taipei metropolitan area. The corporation has also integrated existing fruit and vegetable collection points and transport fleets to help small farmers send fresh vegetables and fruit to Taipei for sale, building an effective organic vegetable and fruit marketing and distribution channel.
Taipei is a very important consumption area because its population is large and concentrated and its purchasing power is relatively strong. If organic or friendly-farmed agricultural products can enter Taipei's vegetable and fruit supply channels, sales will be guaranteed. The Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation has an independent packing facility for organic agricultural products, isolating possible cross-contamination from other non-organic agricultural products from production area, transport, and packing to delivery. In March and April this year, the supply of organic vegetables and fruit through the corporation was 45 and 42 metric tons respectively, compared with 11 and 10 metric tons in the same period last year. Although the absolute quantities are very small, the increase is not small.
