THE COST of production of potatoes, or the price which the farmer gets for a kilogram of potatoes, is Rs. 3. By the time it reaches the wholesaler, the price of potatoes goes up to Rs. 14 with the middle man’s margin contributing Rs.11 to the wholesale price. By the time the kilo of potatoes reaches you at the Panaji, Margao or Mapusa market, the price shoots up to Rs.25 with the retailer adding his own margin of Rs. 11 per kg. In the case of cucumber, the price at which the farmer sells a kilo to the middle man is Rs. 4. The middleman adds Rs. 16 as his margin. So much so, by the time it reaches the wholesaler gets it, the price is Rs.20. In the market, a kilo of cucumbers costs you Rs.40 because the retailer adds his margin of Rs.20. In the case of ginger, an essential ingredient in cooking even though it may be used in very small quantities, the difference between the price the farmer receives for a kilo and the retail price is as much as Rs.95. While the farmer gets between Rs. 2 to Rs.3 per kilo of ginger, the price you pay for it at the market is Rs.100.

She’s a mother worth saluting and honouring and I have my friends Anastasia and Jerome Mendes to thank for meeting up with Mariane, Jerome’s mother, mother to six sons, one long since lost to her forever. Perhaps birthday celebrations no longer mean anything to Mariane for much of her family is abroad and her eldest son Jerome who plays the role of keeping family together and responsible and accountable worries about her and keeps in touch with her during his regular visits to Goa and on a day-to-day basis when in London where he’s settled with wife Anastasia for the last 36 years.