With Mary White, TD, Deputy Leader Green Party in Carlow town celebrating the 4th anniversary of the Carlow Farmers Market . Image:CFinn
23 August 2008
Mniister Trevor Sargent TD, seen here with Mary White TD, Green Party Deputy Leader, was on hand to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the Farmers Market in Carlow on Saturday.
Speaking at the opening, he said:
“Farmers Markets have become more popular as consumers are demanding local produce with issues such as traceability, provenance and food safety becoming more important. Some come for the local market experience while for others the environment, food miles and carbon footprints are of concern. Markets help to re-connect consumers with local food producers and offer small producers a platform to test out their products, to innovate and better understand consumer demand. In a very direct way markets can also keep us in touch with the seasonality of nature and the taste of fresh local food.
The experience to date of farmers’ markets and farm shops suggests that they can provide wide-ranging and long-term benefits, both locally and regionally which can be measured socially, environmentally and economically. Benefits include access to in-season quality fresh food, more money circulating in local economies, increased employment regionally, the preservation and development of regional specialties and an enhanced level of choice for consumers as well as environmental benefits.
In addition, well-organised and consistent quality markets can become a very valuable tourist attraction, bringing more foot flow into towns to the benefit of all retailers. Recent research has shown that €10 spent at a farmers’ market will result in a net income of €24 for the community. It has also been estimated that trade for other businesses increases, by up to 30% when a market is run in a town.”
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