“De la Mata a la Mesa” Fair generates savings of 35% to the consumer

Rosa Caiza and Segundo Barrera got up very early to see how the prices were at the De la Mata a la Mesa fair, held this Saturday in Quito. Rosa was amazed that a soursop that she normally buys at $ 12, “I found her here at $ 5.” Segundo was satisfied that everything was “much cheaper than in any other market.”

Feria de la Mata a la Mesa generates savings of 35% to the consumer

Marcelo Vera also made a leap to the esplanade of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Magap), in the north of the city, where he acquired some greens. “It is important that we have the facility to buy healthy food.” For Rosa Ceballos, however, the prices were “more or less.”

Mery Aldaz decided on roasted beans. “They are good for the brain; With this you don’t have to buy any medicine, ”he said. This is the second macro of four that are planned by the National Government to bring producers closer to consumers.

However, another 133 fairs remain active, a number that could increase, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Xavier Lazo. There, around 650 farmers from nine provinces of the Sierra, the Coast and the Amazon came together. The Ministry supported them with a percentage of the expenses in the transportation of the products from the provinces, while the infrastructure and the space were arranged free of charge. Carlos Aurelio Tambulla, from the Valle Nuevo de Guayllabamba Agricultural Association, highlighted the support they received for transportation because it allowed them to lower costs, which was an advantage for consumers.

Meanwhile, María Ponce welcomed the opening of the Government to publicize the banana flour produced by 28 people in the Agricultural Association “Vida Sana”, in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. Among the participants was Carlos Fulche, former Minister of Agriculture of Chile (2014-2018), who highlighted the initiative because producers are better able to sell by coming into direct contact with consumers and they, in turn, purchase products at more prices Competitive and higher quality.

He pointed out that an additional value is that it brings the rural world closer to the city. “It is very good that the effort, work and dignity behind each food we consume is known.”

The Chilean stressed that to be competitive, to access local, regional or even international markets, it is necessary to organize and a modern way of doing it is through cooperatives.

In the case of Ecuador, he sees a remarkable diversity from the productive point of view, but he pointed out the importance of adding value to family farming. He added that the aspiration is that the circuits that go from the producer to the consumer are short and efficient, so initiatives such as Kill to the table allow eliminating intermediation.

Rosa Bejarano celebrated that the 60 people who make up the BIOVIDA women’s association are participating in the fair that takes place every Wednesday at the Plaza Dominical de Cayambe, where they sell “everything we produce in our homes”. Alejandra Cabrera confirms the expected result: “I bought some vegetables, they were fresh and I thought they had an appropriate cost.”

The average sale of the producers who attended the fair was calculated between $ 80 thousand and $ 90 thousand. The one carried out in Imbabura generated sales of $ 72,000 to the 920 producers. It is estimated that the savings for consumers in the purchase of products at fairs range between 35% and 40% with respect to supermarket prices.

https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/feria-genera-ahorro-consumidor