Supporting farmers in Northeast India with kiwi jam

Although few Indian farmers are certified organic, many use organic practices because they can't afford chemicals. Others would farm organically if they knew they would be paid a premium for their crops. Increasingly, there are consumers in Indian cities willing to pay that premium. But these farmers and consumers need someone to connect them. 

One small corner of the overwhelming array of stalls
 at the International Food and Hospitality Fair.

I've encountered a variety of efforts to make those connections, sometimes in the strangest of places: this Sunday, I found one at a massive "food and hospitality" expo showcasing industrial electric ovens, ice cream cone machines, frozen potato parathas, and everything in between.

Among stalls wooing customers with samples of imported chocolate and ice cream, the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) had brought small food processors from Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Assam to sell their pickles, jams, and "squashes." NERAMAC helps small farmers in Northeast India, many of whom use organic practices by default, to process and get good prices for their produce. Farmers in Arunachal Pradesh, for instance, grow kiwis, and small food processing plants turn them into jam. Kiwi jam is delicious! Fellow fruit nerds can find more information on kiwis in India here.

Micro-processors from Sikkim and Manipur stand in front
of their products at the NERAMAC stall.

Kiwis grown by NERAMAC's farmers in Arunachal Pradesh.