Organic food catching on Promoters of organic food fest say these varieties are healthy

Organic food catching on

Promoters of organic food fest say these varieties are healthy

The awareness on the benefits of organic food is rising slowly yet steadily. To promote the same, a biodiversity mela was organised by Sahaja Samrudha, an organic farmers association with farmers and seed-savers of Karnataka on Saturday at Lalbagh. The mela brought together food crops from all over the state which includes 200 varieties of rice and 120 varieties of millets, fruits, vegetables and seeds. According to Somesha B, CEO of Sahaja Organics, the awareness about organic food has been rising steadily. “There has been an increase in consumers from the last year to this year. However, reducing the pricing in the coming days will only be possible as consumption increases,” he said adding that there is a need to popularise the benefits of organic products in urban Karnataka. There are 18 stalls and this is the first time that such a mela is being held in the state. “We are trying to promote organic food by organising melas like these,” he added. “We want to link producers to the market. For instance, there are many varieties of grains which are nutritious that are disappearing. A variety of brown top millet called koralu, which is grown in some parts of the state, has been completely neglected. The fiber content and the nutrition value is very high. Besides it can be grown in waste lands and is a solution to the climate change. However, grains like these are fast disappearing,” said Krishnaprasad, secretary of Sahaja Samrudha. According to stall owners, the prices of organic products is about 20% more than regular food stuff. At the mela, there are various varieties of rice, millets, oils, health drinks, seeds, spices, herbal soaps and also snacks which have been made from organic products. The mela has been held to raise awareness to the public about the importance of biodiversity and raise awareness on the ‘convention of biological diversity to be held between October 8 and 19 in Hyderabad. There is also a plan to organise a mela on the theme food for good health in the next two months.