Farming is....

I often get a good laugh at the shocked faces or surprised comments at my Sunday market when the market-goers hear me speak English.  To some of them, it is unheard of to hear a produce-seller being able to speak proper English - if you speak with the "lahs" and "lor" and without proper grammar, this is fine.  The sellers are also supposed to be uneducated or lowly-educated and the fine, clever customers should be able to look down on them.  At times, these fine, educated customers speak rudely and patronize you.  They are the ultimate practitioners of stereotyping.  I enjoy jolting them out of their preconceived notions and watching their jaws drop when I revert to my business English.  I view this as my social responsibility to cultivate sensitivity and awareness that all humans are to be treated with respect and civility - you never know the background of the other person - and not to judge a person on appearances - personal or otherwise.

From my experience in the US, a visit to the Farmers' market is always a learning experience.  Interesting produce and products direct from the farm is always of good quality and the sellers are always knowledgeable of their products.  Quality and freshness is the standard.  Consumers expect it.  Conversely, here, often, consumers expect cheap, low quality products.  SHL aims to produce quality and fresh produce and products at competitive pricing.  If the customers expect to pay cheaper than chain-store prices for a better quality, then they are sadly mistaken.  Vegetables are produced without chemical herbicide or pesticides and harvested the day prior to market.  At a recent visit to a T-store, I found 3 stems of pucuk paku, all wilted, sold at RM 2.99.  I sell a bunch of them at RM 1 and I have had comments from the well-dressed affluent customers who say that it is expensive.  What a joke!!  They ignorantly comment that since this should be easy to obtain in the "kampung", it should be sold at 50 cents a bunch.  I would love to see these people try to do it.  I just smile and suggest politely that they buy from alternative sellers.  Little do they know, that a few of the sellers there buy from us to resell :).  It is funny to see them circle the market and return later only to find that it has sold out.  We all have choices so I leave it to them to make theirs.
I have many regular customers that I enjoy to visit with - often we will chat on the nutrition of the produce that I sell as well as share recipes.  They warm my heart with their appreciation of my products and motivate me to improve.

From week to week, some of the products varies as it depends on what is ready.  The varieties of bananas also vary and I will only know what I will have 2-3 days before market day, the time when I tour the farm and select what bananas will be ready to consumption by Sunday or 1-2 days later.  At times, it is a battle between me and the birds.  The same goes for papayas.  Nothing beats the taste naturally ripened fruits as opposed to fruits that are chemically-induced.  One of the things that love watching is the change of the color of pisang lemak manis or emas from yellowish-green to bright yellow. 
Depending on the variety, the bananas are sold at RM 2.50 or RM 3.00 per kilogram.  I have some ignorant opportunist that say I should sell at RM 1.00 or RM 1.50 per kg as it is direct from the farm so all I need to do is wait for them to grow - no need to do anything.  Anyone with any sense knows that to produce quality produce, you have to take care of the plant, clear the weeds, ensure enough fertilizers before you can harvest them.  From a plant, depending on variety, it would yield about 5-10 kg.  Average time to harvest is 8 months.  So from one plant, you may get a maximim of RM 25 (the RM 3/kg is for pisang emas and lemak manis which only produce about 5kg per plant).  Do the math - how many of these consumers would wait 8 months to earn RM 25 per plant.  If you have 100 pants, then you make RM 2500 for 8 months or RM 312.50 per month before costs.  so, be reasonable consumers :)
All in all, I am getting to be quite spoilt and selective of my fruits and vegetable.  I feel blessed that I have this choice.  SubhanAllah.