Farmers, and all those who support family farms, farm markets, and CSA's, this one's for you!! As a milk and vegetable farmer, Svetlana Maksimova knows firsthand about the challenges facing fellow farmers living around the Russian city of Tver, 250 km northwest of Moscow. "The issue is that farmers have no access to markets as it’s controlled by big companies," Maksimova said. To tackle the problem, Maksimova has set up special distribution centres, making it easier and cheaper for farmers to get their produce to customers. She has also organised local food fairs where farmers can showcase their organic produce such as potatoes, cabbages and apples, as well as more informal food markets with farmers selling vegetables from their car boots. Amid the economic and political turmoil that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, Maksimova managed to build a milk and vegetable farm in 1997. She then formed a union of 500 local smallholder farmers, based on her belief that if farmers work together they can achieve better results and yield more influence. Last year, the farmers union nominated Maksimova to run for political office and she became an elected official in the Russian parliament, from where she continues to lobby for the rights of small farmers in the Tver region. Maksimova's daughter is following her mother's footsteps and has taken over the running of the family farm.
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