Marketing Your Vegetables

By Joel T. Fagsao

Marketing your veggies is one thing you should consider.  Many a farmer is at the mercy of the middle man or just bringing it to the market will not ensure a good sales price for your product.  Start by choosing your target market.  As a gardener growing veggies the natural way, you can command a higher price for your product.  This is because you are giving the assurance to your end consumer that your products are pesticide/chemical free.  There is a growing number of consumer who are willing to pay more for vegetables that are safe to eat.  There are also consumers who are concerned about caring for the environment and would support you by buying your product, knowing full well that your gardening method cares for the earth.  It would not be easy to establish a reputation that you are growing your veggies the natural way.  To be trusted as an organic vegetable grower does not happen overnight.  If you cannot afford organic certification which usually costs P35,000.00 a year in the Philippines then you just have to be creative.  Start by inviting potential customers to your garden.  Have patience, give them a tour and explain (show and tell) how you grow your vegetables.  It also pays if you join an organization of like minded farmers so you can do a group promotion of your products.  If you want to go on your own for the meantime, find a vendor at your public market that can sell for you and don't compromise on your selling price.  Remember, your veggies are above the rest of the vegetables-that are grown through conventional farming.  Better yet, you can arrange for home deliveries to your target customers.  If you have a small market, it would be best to grow a variety of vegetables-which is good for your garden anyway.  You thus have to do a seedling and planting schedule.  For example, this week, you seed your lettuce on two or three trays (number varies according to your land size, labor/help, market size).  The following week, you seed the next batch of lettuce.  You also seed other varieties of vegetables as well.  Your aim here is to ensure a steady supply for your market and avoid the negative effect of an oversupply of a particular variety of vegetables.  As your market expands, never compromise or take shortcuts, note that lettuce for example will not be available to your customers all the time- offer them variety instead.  In natural farming, crop rotation is practice so the same veggies cannot be grown all the time.  Till next time.