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| Kerala Agriculture Development Society (KADS), Thodupuzha, Ernakulam |
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Not cultivation, but marketing is the waterloo of farmers. So when 70 farmers around Thodupuzha joined together to form a collective called Kerala Agriculture Development Society (KADS) with an initial capital of Rs.35000, they had one simple aim: to encourage farmers to sell their produce at a reasonable rate.
During the 1˝ years of its existence, KADS has more than fulfilled that aim, with the membership swelling to 1200 and the annual turnover touching Rs. 1.5 crores.
“We do not have big projects. By avoiding middlemen, we wish to provide the farmers with an open market where they can sell their goods at their own terms”, says Antony Kandirikkil, President of the Society. “Besides we wish to slowly bring the farmers into the organic farming fold. Only such goods will have market in the future.”
KADS has been able to facilitate the IndoCert attestation on organic farming for 53 of its members. And already their products are coming to the open market at Thodupuzha. Their plan is to buy organic products at 30% more prize and sell them separately under organic label.
They are planning to target the domestic market at present and would think of exports at a later stage.
Courtesy: Staff Reporter, Karshakan, October 2003
Contributed by: Administrator
