YOUR INDUSTRY
RESTRICTIONS ON FARMERS’ MARKETS “UNREASONABLE AND UNECONOMIC”
Words by Elaine Fisher
The Hamilton Farmers’ Market operated with social distancing, mask wearing and 100 people limits on Saturday September 12
Classifying Farmers’ Markets as events under ‘Delta Level 2’ restrictions and capping shoppers at 100 is unreasonable for customers and uneconomic for stallholders, says Jono Walker, chair of Farmers’ Markets New Zealand (FMNZ). As Farmers’ Markets around the country, except for the five in Auckland, re-opened in early September, Jono says FMNZ struggled to understand why the classification had changed from last lockdown and had written to the Minister of Health to address the issue. “We feel strongly that Farmers’ Markets are not events. Events are concerts or sports matches where people buy tickets and attend for entertainment,” Jono says. “Farmers’ markets are about selling seasonal, staple, nutritious food such as fruit and vegetables, bread, meat and milk that people take home to cook during the week, returning the next week to buy more. “During last lockdown Farmers’ Markets were classified as a public venue space, more aligned with food retailers like grocers, dairies and supermarkets. We can’t understand why this has changed.
30 NZGROWER : OCTOBER 2021
“Most markets are in the open air and my understanding is that there are no documented cases of people contracting Covid-19 in an outside environment.” There are 27 markets aligned to FMNZ throughout the country, supported by hundreds of growers and producers who rely on the markets for much or all of their income. It’s on their behalf that Jono and other FMNZ committee members have advocated for a change in restrictions, particularly to the 100-person limit. “I’ve done the sums, and if a shopper takes 15 minutes to get round a market quickly, that’s four people per hour, times the 100 allowed under current rules. Which means 400 people pass through the market each hour, equating to 1,600 over a normal market morning. “That means stallholders are going to sell much less product, and for some it may not be worth being there; especially as some of the bigger markets attract as many as 5,000 people over the four hours the markets are open. There also won't be time to allow all the customers to do their shopping at some of the larger markets.” Markets which opened on 11 and 12 September employed security guards or volunteers to restrict public entry, adding another cost for stallholders and causing problems for markets with many points of entry.
