Farmers' markets are neither a fluffy PR exercise nor a chance to earn pocket money ­ they are a vital income generator for many producers. Setting up a stall in the high street can, at a minimum, yield enough to cover costs or it can bring in £2,000 a day, and it's estimated that a fifth of the farmers who do get involved rely on the markets for all their income, while two-thirds make 80%. The enforced sabbatical during the height of the foot and mouth crisis served to reinforce just how important they are ­ the National Association of Farmers' Markets reckons stalls at the 280 markets around the country lost a total of £2m in the first four weeks. Markets are a success with the consumer and farmers themselves relish the interaction with shoppers and appreciate the much needed cash. The NFU is in favour of them too, as is the government, and because this month is farmers' markets month, the national association is trying to garner more interest from the public by getting endorsements from Prince Charles, who praised the markets for helping to inspire consumer confidence in food production, and food and farming minister Larry Whitty, who said they helped to restore the links between producers and their final customers. Even some of the multiples are gritting their teeth and giving up precious space. Sainsbury has just allowed a market to open in its Finchley Road store car park in London. A spokeswoman says: "It's something we're willing to help with in areas where it's needed, depending on space and planning concerns." It is, however, the only one on a Sainsbury site. At the other end of the scale, Asda had 40 regular markets in its stores before foot and mouth broke out and although it has none at the moment, insists it's keen to support them once the crisis is over. Although there's talk of butchers on a certain Home Counties market committee blocking any meat stalls taking part, it seems high street retailers' initial fears that they'd face unwanted competition and lose sales have been assuaged. Many even report increased profits on market day from shoppers keen to check out all the town's offer. Friends of the Earth reckons there's high knock-on spending in other shops on market days. For its research in Winchester, traders reported 30% increases in takings over the same day in previous years. NAFM national co-ordinator James Pavitt says many local traders make deals with the farmers to sell product outside market days, and both parties benefit. "It's a good arrangement. There's pretty good support among local traders ­ usually the problem is the apprehension of competition, but when they see they benefit too, they're fine," he says. "It has done no harm to town centre shops at all. Competition is the life-blood of trade." Butcher David Smith admits he was one of the local traders who considered getting up a petition when the market was announced in Arundel, Sussex. His heart sank when the plans were announced and he discovered four meat stalls were opening up on his doorstep. "I thought it was hard enough as it was without extra competition." Despite Smith's misgivings, the market has become an extra moneyspinner for his business, especially after he set up a barbecue selling his shop's produce. "This has more than compensated for any loss in trade, but I don't even think that has happened. I see lots of new faces in the shop on market day. It seems the people visiting the market are coming in here too. It hasn't done us any harm and I've even been asked to do a hog roast at other markets." Jane O'Neill, who set up Arundel Farmers' Market two years ago, admits there can be a tremendous amount of hostility from local traders ­ most of whom are placated when they realise their business can also profit. "The butcher was against us and the greengrocer was also anti-market, but her takings have gone up and now she uses these suppliers when the market isn't on. Everyone wins." Arundel has a waiting list of farmers keen to join. Its 30 stalls attract between 2,500 and 3,000 people every month and she says that although the original "euphoria" has died down, people are still spending more than they used to. One dairy farmer's wife makes cakes and sells them on the stall and during the winter she makes more than her husband does selling milk. But O'Neill is not satisfied that everyone has the opportunity to take part. She says that for some it's a question of getting started ­ they're so hard up that they can't afford transport to the market, or carrier bags. She hopes some kind of fund can be set up to help these farmers. "Their incomes have dropped so much that they can't afford a couple of hundred pounds to get going." The whole venture is a boost for farmer power and many of the more enterprising manage to attend at least one a week by touring the local area. Guildford Farmers' Market attracts up to 50 stallholders each month. One trader, Nick Rook-Blackstone, of Wyld's Farm in Liss, hopes to set up stall three times a week around the area after converting his cattle farm to organic vegetables. He says: "I wouldn't have been able to make the switch without the markets as an outlet." He can turn over £300 a day ­ and at high margin ­ and reckons the markets are as much a PR exercise as money-spinner. Meat farmer John Day, from Blackfriars Farm in Rusper, is blunt about his prospects without a market. "This is absolutely vital for us. We couldn't make a living without the markets ­ we would be working for nothing." Chutney maker Godfrey Chapple, of Chapples Fine Sauces, is even surer of their worth after a six-week gap during the foot and mouth crisis. "The markets are now 90% of our business and without them it was horrendous." Georgina Emerson, of Hunts Hill Farm in Normandy Common, makes 80% of her income from her free range meat concern at markets. She believes they're good for farmers and for the local retailers because they enhance a town's shops. "It's bringing town centres back to life again. We're doing so well that we now have customers following us to different markets." At first glance it would seem that Tim Garrard's permanent fruit and veg stall right next to the market in Guildford takes a pounding each market day, but he insists he doesn't have a problem with it. "It doesn't take any of my business ­ I think it's a positive thing for the town," he says. Garrard is, however, unhappy about the number of out-of-towners that it brings ­ stallholders from as far afield as the Isle of Wight and Kent. "I'm not impressed by that. It's unfair that they are given cheap rent to sell in front of shops that have to pay some of the highest rates in the country. People think they're buying local produce and they're not. I'd be a lot happier if the farmers were from round here." Market co-ordinator Catherine Piner acknowledges the criticism but says that because they need a mix of products and there aren't many dairy farmers in the 30-mile radius, for example, it has had to look to Somerset for stall holders. She adds: "When they sign up, the understanding is they will be replaced if we find someone more local." These kind of complaints are something the NFU is aware of. Farmers' markets are broadly supported by the union and its marketing chief Helen Lo says they're a very positive initiative. But she is keen to keep their integrity intact after receiving complaints about bananas being sold and business people who couldn't discuss produce with the public manning stalls instead of farmers. "We had about three complaints a week when they first set up, but it's tailed off now." There is often a compromise made on the localness of products ­ for example marmalade, where the oranges are bought in, but it's made at home. Friends of the Earth real food campaigner Pete Riley says that supporting the markets in any way is a form of trade justice. "It's all very well buying Fairtrade produce from the Caribbean when some farmers here face a financial abyss. By supporting the markets we're directly rewarding people for a hard job." And the pressure group is also convinced that the customer base is not limited to the middle class consumer, as it is reputed to be. In the US, they work well in poorer communities and have a crucial role to play in making fresh fruit and vegetables available where they weren't before, or making them available at lower prices. FoE believes markets in the UK have the potential to help deal with the problem of food deserts in inner cities, caused by the exodus of supermarkets to out-of-town sites. Organisers agree, and are now keen to dispel the perception that the vast majority of customers are middle class liberals who shop at the markets for novelty value and to ease their conscience. Arundel's O'Neill says it was extremely fashionable to shop at the markets a year or so back, and that they're still seen as a "foodie and middle class" event by many. "We're aware of that label and we want to change that. People on a low income should be able to go to them too." She plans to set up a pilot market in Littlehampton at the end of next month ­ one of several in deprived areas. "New markets always have a huge number of people for a launch, then it's hard work to keep them coming." O'Neill admits that shoppers pay more in some instances for products than they would in a supermarket if farmers have no other outlet for their products. "You shouldn't really pay more because you're cutting out the middleman, but at the same time you are producing quality food." She reckons the two main consumer groups are older people who know what to do with raw produce and the 30-somethings who want freshness and traceability, plus convenience ­ something farmers' markets don't offer. "Younger people want food they can just stick under the grill, they don't want joints of meat. They want the best of both worlds. Farmers' markets need to look at that. Although we don't want to do the same as supermarkets ­ for example offer peeled and chopped carrots ­ we need a happy medium." The association's Pavitt agrees that the markets typically appeal to ABC1s and that he's keen to get in a wider range of shoppers. "Like-for like prices are about the same as supermarkets', or cheaper." He is concerned that supermarkets don't undersell the farmers. "For every £100 you spend, £80 is reinvested in the local economy by the local traders, but only £20 is reinvested by a supermarket." FoE's Riley believes that because the markets are now more established, it's time to think more laterally. "Maybe the farmers should start working in closer partnership with local retailers. You could end up with a more permanent arrangement, such as retailers selling the farmers' fresh produce on a regular basis. Now that some villagers are banding together and running previously abandoned shops, there's a huge potential to stock local produce. That way, money is retained locally." Pavitt adds: "Farmers need to ensure there's a market for produce which isn't speciality. There should be a range of produce and in different quantities ­ you should not only sell a bag of apples, you should sell them separately as well." It is going to be several years before it becomes clear how big the phenomenon will be and there is obviously the potential to grow and increase regularity. The NFU thinks that a US-style system could possibly operate in future, where a permanent market is held once or twice a week in certain towns. A slightly sour note, however, comes from DEFRA which is sponsoring farmers' markets month and is pleased at their progress. But a spokeswoman says bluntly that they're still a niche sector. "Their appeal is the equivalent to organic produce on a supermarket's shelves." Whatever the prognosis for British agriculture plc, farmers' markets may not be the cure, but they're certainly proving a good tonic. n {{COVER FEATURE }}