More than 90,000 people have visited the weekly Farmer's Market in Budaiya since it resumed two months ago.

The popular event has also been helping raise money for charity by selling reusable plastic bags, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The market, which is held at the Agriculture Centre, runs every Saturday from 8am to noon.

Farmer's Market executive manager Amani Abu Idris said the visitor numbers had been encouraging since the summer shutdown.

"There's been a significant increase from last year," she told the GDN.

"We have been learning from our own mistakes, and trying to improve things.

"We've worked harder to make it a family atmosphere, allow parents to buy produce, while children can play with farm animals and take pony rides.

"The breakfast foods provided also make it very family friendly, as people bring blankets and sit to have traditional breakfast food.

"We also have a new art section, where artists can sit and draw or paint."

One of the most important aspects of the market is the money being raised for charity.

"We're selling these reusable plastic bags for BD1 ($2.6) each to raise money for the Bahrain Sickle Cell Society," said Abu Idris.

"We'll collect the money until the end of the season and donate it all at once. Last year we raised money for cancer."

Tasneem Farm co-owner Fathiya Al Nosaif said the market was encouraging farmers to grow different types of produce.

"Both Bahrainis and expats have been attending," she said. "In this second year, we've been encouraged by how many people turn up.

"As farmers, we not only want to show, we want to increase the different types of vegetables we sell.

"We have begun adding different things to attract people, like different coloured corn and different kinds of lettuce.

"This market is so important because it showed the public how good the Bahraini product is.

"It used to be that saying the produce is Bahraini meant that you had to lower the price to ridiculous levels.

"But now that we have a place to showcase our produce, it's stabilising the price a little.

"We don't have to struggle against regional produce from Saudi Arabia and Jordan."

The produce is arguably cheapest at the Farmer's Market, with many farmers saying they price things cheaper than the Manama Central Market.

Farmer Said Baker Mohammed Haider is new to the market.

"It's great to be part of the market, it's like a breath of fresh air," he said.

"Usually as a farmer I work from 3am beginning to pick the produce, up to about 7am or 8am selling it in Central Market in Manama.

"The hours here mean I can actually see people and interact with them, so it's nice to be out of the dark." - TradeArabia News Service