Between October 25-27, 2018, agripreneurs from the project `Promoting sustainable consumption and production systems for safe and organic foods in India’ participated in the 10th edition of BIOFACH – the biggest global trading platform for high-quality organic products. Biofach 2018 was a good platform for networking with more than 150 exhibitors from India and abroad at a common platform. For “Bhoomi Ka” which has been established as a platform to envision and create sustainable food systems favourable to smallholder farmers, it was a perfect opportunity to reach out to direct consumers, retailers and brand owners. During the three-day event, Bhoomi Ka was represented by smallholder farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) incubated under the Bhoomi Ka platform, and food ecopreneurs. Bhoomi Ka showcased the rich diversity of organic food products from the states of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, both as organic agri produce and as processed foods under the “local brand” segment.
The stall, which had a unique aesthetic design using almost no plastic and integrating a range of diverse food products from the forests and central plains, began to get attention from visitors immediately after its inauguration. All products were displayed with Bhoomi Ka labels explaining the location they came from, calorific values and compositions.
The range of products on display included wild honey, nine kinds of millets and six kinds of rice including hand pounded rice and low glycaemic index rice for diabetic patients. The array also included unique display of Roselle jam; millet cookies; handmade sugar and gluten free cookies; cold pressed oils from different seeds as groundnut, white sesame and mustard (considered healthy owing to the indigenous process of extraction of the oil which preserves its rich nutrient value).
Bhoomi Ka was represented by all three major stakeholders -representatives of farmer producer companies, CSO partners and food ecopreneurs, who proudly discussed about organic healthy food and its benefits with visitors.
The visiting dignitaries included senior leadership of the Delegation of the European Union to India, CEO’s of prominent companies, officials of the various agricultural departments from across India, business entrepreneur representatives from micro and medium business enterprises looking to source certified organic products directly from farmers and journalists from India and abroad.
Participating at the event also led to small business enquiries for organic produce from Bhoomi Ka supported FPOs and enquiries for food ecopreneurs.
About Bhoomi Ka
Co-funded by the European Union and supported by the Switch Asia Facility, Bhoomi Ka is a brand of an integrated network which brings together ecopreneurs, consumer groups, smallholder farmers and their producer organizations, certification bodies, civil society networks on one platform. It follows an integrated approach by promoting reliable consumer information and awareness, supporting ecopreneurs with business development and consumer outreach, supporting smallholder farmers to access the market by co-creating sustainable organic value chains and creating an enabling policy environment by engaging with policy makers.
