KEY POINTS:
There's a long history of co-operation in the rural economy. Our biggest corporate and exporter Fonterra is, after all, still a co-operative.
This spirit of collaborative business is making a comeback in the big cities, in the form of the farmers' market, where the mass-produced supermarket ethos takes a back seat to some old-school produce shopping.
It's a return to earlier days, before the big chains took control of food distribution and smaller-scale farmers found themselves increasingly unable to compete with corporate players.
Farmers' Market NZ is a loose national body of markets.
It's trying to launch a national programme - partially Government funded - to promote New Zealand-grown produce.
The group's other priority is a certification scheme whereby a genuine farmers' market can be audited and accredited as the real deal.
"There's some latitude there, but we reckon 80 per cent of the stalls in the market should be authentic, local produce, where customers can buy directly from the person who grew or made the product," says Ian Thomas, of Farmers' Markets NZ Inc. "The most successful markets are the ones that can get a lot of fresh produce."
This can be a real challenge for those Thomas describes as "metro markets", such as at Parnell and Britomart in Auckland City.
Produce at these markets has to come from a lot further afield, but is still from "that natural food bowl" of the city, including Pukekohe, Waikato and Northland. While it means a long drive for the farmers, they have more shoppers at their city destination.
Thomas says the push towards authenticity has been driven by the consumers.
"They soon see through farmers' markets that don't have a high enough level of authenticity. Consumers are going out of their way to support locally grown producers, and if they find they're making that commitment, and that commitment isn't reciprocated by the market, then they vote with their feet."
He says about 45 regular farmers' markets are operating around New Zealand and the kind of growth seen over the past few years is typical of that in many Western countries, with markets in Australia, Britain and the US all expanding quickly. About half the British markets are certified as genuine farmers' markets.
Thomas lists three main drivers for the attraction of farmers' markets.
First, the food; second, the interaction a consumer can have with the producer; and third, the social aspect of bumping into friends and talking to people. Some customers go for the first reason, others are driven by the social side and the interaction with the growers.
But it would be a mistake to think of farmers' market traders as hobby or lifestyle farmers, because many use them as part of a solid business strategy, driven in part by the fact that only large-scale corporates are now supplying the supermarkets.
"There's a load of smaller-scale commercial growers who've been pushed out of supplying supermarkets and who've taken to direct selling as a change in direction," says Thomas.
It's similar to selling at the farm gate - there's no commission paid or any middleman, so customers and growers should get a good deal from doing business at a farmers' market.
There's no protection or copyright over the farmers' market's name, but the national organisation is trying to set up a certification of authenticity with an accompanying logo, so customers will be able to establish if it fits Farmers' Markets NZ's definition.
Much of the push for genuine farmers' markets is coming from community organisations, keen to inject life and spirit into their neighbourhood. The biggest problem many face is finding enough suppliers to go to their market - despite stall fees costing between $15 and $45 a week.
"It comes from the consumer end, rather than the producers pushing it," says Thomas.
Farmers' Market NZ hopes to get 75 per cent of the markets to sign up to the new "Buy Kiwi Grown" campaign. A mirror of the existing campaign to encourage people to buy products made here, it will try to do the same for our fruit and vegetables.
They're obviously growing fast, but finding out what sort of turnover farmers' markets are doing each weekend isn't easy. Thomas says many stall holders "are quite cagey" about how much money they make. And even if you asked, it wouldn't be easy to give a good estimate of the costs involved, particularly with the labour input of some farmers on small blocks of land.
"I don't think we're taking a significant share off the supermarkets that they're worried about," says Thomas. "I think we are highlighting what consumers want and the ones that can respond to that."
Markets are starting to show some of the big supermarkets a new direction, says Thomas. Some in Britain promote links to local producers.
Others host farmers' markets in their carparks to increase patronage in their stores.
Melody Francis has the job of developing and promoting the Parnell Trust Farmers' Market, which started in November.
She's delighted with how the market has worked, fulfilling the aim of the Parnell Trust, which is trying to foster community spirit.
Held alongside the Jubilee Building, formerly the Blind Institute, the market has quickly become a popular meeting spot for locals.
"Every market is different. They all have their own ideas about how they look and where they're going. Location has a huge impact on what it will look like," says Francis.
"Everyone will have different ideas. In our one, we go for two things - the first is historical because traditionally, this area in Newmarket used to be market gardens."
It's a long way from Parnell to the nearest potato field, and the shoppers love the fact they can talk to the person who works that patch of dirt.
Francis says: "People appreciate they've got access to that grower - they can talk to them about how they grew it, what soil they use, did they use these sprays - that kind of stuff."
A stall at Parnell costs $45 and the market runs from 8am to noon every Saturday.
"We did give the stallholders the option of going inside the hall, because we have a huge hall here, but they said no - the Dunedin market goes all year, outside in the snow," says Francis.
"If the Dunedin market can, I suppose we can."
Robyn Newton, of Waimauku, is one of the Parnell market's stallholders, selling fresh pasta.
She's had experience at other markets, but says the co-operative spirit and community focus of Parnell makes the farmers' market concept a better way for her to operate.
"The person you hand your money to is important. Knowing your product is what I'm passionate about," says Newton.
"The people who come to farmers' markets are coming mainly because they are foodies. You can go to the supermarket and buy what you want for the week. But they want to know about food, they want to know where it's grown, they are conscious of what they are going to do with the food.
"They are interested and that is the most important thing to me."
People are so interested in what Newton does she takes their product development advice.
There's a certain kind of three-cheese pasta she makes - blue vein, ricotta and parmesan with walnuts and lemon juice - that she was thinking of altering.
"I wanted to change it. I thought it was a bit bland, but they all told me 'no, you leave it the way it is' - they know their food."
All well and good, this community spirit and friendly co-operation, but is it good business?
No doubt about it, says Newton. As well as earning money selling pasta to educated customers, it's a premium site for business networking. Contacts made in Parnell have already helped her win a good job catering for a winery concert.
Her experience is typical of those who love the farmers' markets model for doing business - it's a little bit country, a little bit of commerce, but mostly a lot of community.
What it's all about
Farmers' Market NZ gives the definition of a true "farmers' market" as one that has at least 80 per cent local produce stalls, which are defined as:
* Local farmer/grower stall: A stall from which a primary producer sells fresh produce which they have grown or farmed themselves. In addition, they may sell value-added products which are made from their own or other local produce.
* Local value-added product stall: A stall from which an artisan food producer sells added value food products made from local ingredients. Sugar, salt, pectin or other ingredients used to preserve or conserve local primary produce are permitted. In both cases, "local" means from within the regional boundaries established by individual farmers markets.
* Other stalls: These will sell food or farm-origin products which individual farmers' markets decide merit a place in their market. Coffee and bread are two common examples.
www.farmersmarket.org.nz
