From the farm to your table

Come September 17 you will be able to get a wide range of organic fruit and vegetables, all grown locally, at the click of a mouse or at a weekly farmers' market. Making this possible is a Dubai company called RIPE which will supply fresh produce at various points, including twice weekly at farmers markets, its founder Becky Balderstone told XPRESS. A long-time advocate of organic produce in her native UK, Balderstone said she struggled to find fresh, local produce at affordable prices when she moved to Dubai. "I realised that there was a great demand amongst the community here, so I decided to introduce the concept myself," she said. RIPE's produce comes from hand-picked farms in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. "For a farm to pass the RIPE test, it must follow organic practices. It must also use eco-friendly operating systems, which means less damage to the environment as well as better produce." She claimed imported produce carries the risk of losing nutrient value by the end of the supply chain. "After being picked in the country of origin, it is packed and transported in refrigerated containers on the road and/or in the air. On arrival in the UAE, it is driven to warehouses and later arrives in the supermarket. By the time you buy that produce, put it in your fridge and cook with it, it has already lost around 80 per cent of its nutrients and vitamins," she said. The RIPE produce will be sold in boxes of two sizes - a small box costing Dh80 that would suffice for two people over a week and a large box worth Dh130 planned for four people. "Most weeks there will be a selection of eight different items," said Balderstone. Standard boxes contain tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, lettuce, peppers and onions. Depending on the time of the year, they will also include seasonal produce such as beans, aubergines, leeks, beetroot, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, pumpkins and courgettes. Customers also have the option of picking up what they want at the weekly farmers' markets where fresh eggs, yoghurt, breads, cakes, pastries, jams and chutneys will also be sold.