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IN THE NEXT
ISSUE...
FARMING
Making bacon, we visit
Moor Farm, Godshill
Farmers
fight back
Many farmers see
farming as a vocation
but their challenge is
that costs so often
exceed sales. The
answer is to increase
margins and if possible sales. The Island Food and Craft
Association, IFCA, is an organisation that is setting out to help
Island farmers do that. It is also focused on doing the same
thing for craft producers hotels, restaurants, B & Bs and farm
shops because it sees all these groups as having the same
objectives and being able to help each other achieve their
mutual goals.
IFCA’s first objective is to bring together the creators (i.e.
farmers and food processors) and promoters (hotels,
restaurants, farm shops, delis etc) so they can jointly sell
quality local products to the general public. They want to
create an open market so promoters know what is available
and from where while creators know who is most interested in
buying their product – Promoter members of IFCA.
IFCA is focusing on four key methods of achieving these
objectives: creating a market, special projects, creating a micro
distribution system and branding.
IFCA intends to create a market place through its new
interactive website to be launched at the end of April. The
information on this website will automatically be launched on
two mainland websites dedicated to supporting the local food
movement and discussions are underway to add a further
three mo ɔ