My wife, a vegetarian, likes her food and always wants to serve the best on the table: the freshest greens, healthy dips, sauces and natural homemade drinks. It was only natural for her to start understanding where her vegetables come from and what goes into growing them. In her quest for good food, she discovered the neighborhood weekly Organic Farmers’ Market and the person behind it all – Vic Gaffney.

It was a sleepy/lazy Sunday, when my wife made an elaborate plan to go and visit the farmers’ market. Who was I to question her decision? I simply went along. The farmers market was a pleasure to the senses, with the cheery greens and reds on display. While my wife shopped for the produce, I bumped into the man responsible for getting the market in place, Vic.

Vic, an Australian, who subscribes to the Gandhian principle, made India his home 14 years ago.  The Permaculturist in him warmed up to the rich, abundant land and produce of India. The idea of setting up a farmers’ market, like rest of the world, germinated in his mind.

Vic, who loves all things natural, was a consumer of such stuff and being a vegetarian for the last 30 years, was able to look at the Indian vegetable market from a customer’s perspective. He identified many loopholes in pricing mechanism of the organic produce. He saw that the local vendors were inflating the prices of the veggies manifold. Also, since there are no compulsory certifications that the government demands, one isn’t sure if something he or she is buying is actually organic produce.

Vic also noticed that there are a lot of farmers who are naturally growing organic produce because of the inability to pay for expensive pesticides and fertilizers. But the middlemen were making merry by pressuring these farmers to sell their produce at a lower price, while they resold it at a higher price.

It was these issues compounded with others that made Vic take a step forward. He simply wanted to help the farmers and better the experience of the customers. Also, as a consumer he now knows where one can get good quality, genuine organic produce at affordable prices. All this being recent history, Vic took the plunge and launched the Organic Farmers’ Market without any sponsorship involved. The Organic Farmers’ Market is purely driven by the principles of Earth care, People care and Fair share.

The model is simple: A restaurant in the heart of South Delhi has offered them free space in their large lawn. The farmers are not charged for the space in the market and they promise to keep the prices low. The retailers are charged a small fee with the promise that they will not compete with the farmers.  Vic says that it is heartening to see and experience the family spirit amongst farmers. They share their knowledge, seeds, techniques and plant protection methods. At the end of the day, most farmers sell all of their produce that they get along to display at the market. In case there are some leftovers, the retail shops are encouraged to buy these stocks.

However as they become popular, the place offered to them, become smaller for their requirements. After much hunting for space and not to be on the wrong side of law, Vic’s landlord opened up the grounds of his spacious office complex in centrally located Connaught Place, Delhi.

The biggest challenge for Vic was to ensure that whatever is being sold at the market is 100% organic. There was this lady who was selling her jams and preserves. Though her basic fruits were organic but how she was preserving was not. So Vic invited her to network with the farmers to identify a solution. After interacting for over 5 weeks, the lady is now reworking her entire menu too 100% organic. As a step forward and to overcome the 100% organic claims, Vic is importing equipments from US, which will help him test every produce, soil for consistency in organic claims. He wants to reach a stage, where any of the farmers is open to checks at any given point of time.

With the challenge for space and quality check in place, Vic now wants to introduce storage options for farmers who produce large quantities.  This will help him reach more consumers who can buy 100% organic produce from retail outlets for a small fee. For example a buyer can buy say a kilo of organic rice for Rs. 50 and pay a fixed percentage like 5 % (not decided yet) for the service. The fee collected, will help Vic pay for workers, storage etc.

The good news is that with a successful model in Delhi, Vic is looking to expand his network to the rest of the country. He is happy to share that he is getting requests to partner similar initiatives in other cities on a franchise model. Vic is also getting requests from Embassies, Expat Clubs and Schools who are looking to change their canteen menus to organic offerings. With his background in Permaculture, he offers consultancy to people who want to start their own organic farm, design menus based on organic produce and help sell organic produce in the market.

I am sure, the entrepreneurial spirit in Vic beams with joy when he waves to the young parent with his toddler who has just arrived confidently to pick up his vegetables and supplies with pride.

This story appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Indian Entrepreneurs Soul