The National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (Farma) has criticised The Sunday Times for taking a “pot shot” at farmers’ markets.
The report attempted to discredit farmers’ markets with the headline, “Farmers’ markets sell ‘supermarket’ foods”, and centred much of its criticism around farm business Isle of Wight Tomatoes selling “experimental genetic crossbreeds” - in fact industry-standard HDC trials - and farm-shop owners sourcing produce from wholesale markets.
Farma managing agent Gareth Jones told FPJ it was “extremely unfair” to hold up a handful of cases as examples, when there are some 10,000 stall-holder spaces available each year. The report also confused farmers’ markets with farm shops, he added. “It is normal for farm shops to buy from wholesale markets, they have been doing it for decades.”
