Learning the short food supply chain: how advisors and training empower sustainable agriculture

Short food supply chains are revolutionising agriculture, but success takes more than direct sales. Tailored training and expert advisors play a crucial role in helping farmers navigate new challenges, and build sustainable, fair, and resilient food systems

You might have your fruit and vegetable basket delivered weekly by your nearby farmer, but you will hardly guess how far the roots of this economic model go. They trace back to an initiative by a group of Japanese consumers in the Minamata Bay area during the 1960s, to counter a neurological disease caused by the fish they used to eat. Since named "Minamata Disease", it was the result of methylmercury being released into the sea by a chemical factory. The solution they found was originally called teikei, meaning 'collaboration'. "The region's residents struck a deal with local farmers, committing to buy their produce for several months. They were guaranteed healthier food; in return, the farmers received payment in advance," recalls French author and documentary filmmaker Tristan Thil in Circuit Court, his graphic novel about the first so-called AMAP (Association for the Preservation of Peasant Agriculture), established in France in 2001 around similar principles. "There is a contract that aligns the interests of consumers, who seek quality products, and farmers, who need financial stability," explains Thil.

Japan and Minamata Disease may seem far away in space and time, but as Thil's book stresses, they have much in common with the story of Daniel and Denise's farm Les Olivades. Their business model not only responded to the growing demand for healthier food, spurred by concerns like mad cow disease, but it also weathered challenges familiar to many farmers, such as increased competition following the establishment of the European single market. "Their story reflects a transition from intensive monoculture practices reliant on pesticides and controlled by distribution networks to entirely new methods of production and sales," he adds. As the urgency for a more sustainable food system grows, initiatives like French AMAPs are now just the tip of the iceberg. Addressing at a time environmental, health, and socio-economic issues, they also share the key goal of shortening the food supply chain (SFSC) by reducing the number of intermediaries.

Research director at INRAE, a French public institute dedicated to agricultural science, Yuna Chiffoleau has been investigating short food supply chains for over 20 years. She also founded the experts' network RMT—Alimentation locale (Local Food). "Short supply chains change how you produce, process and market your products, requiring mastery of a wide array of tasks," she explains. "You have to find your customers, excel at communication, manage logistics and more. It's a lot to handle on your own, which is why advice and training are so crucial." And this is also why her institute is among the partners of Corenet, a European project aimed at fostering the uptake of short food supply chains by developing a more effective advisor network. "While producing and selling a carrot through conventional models is straightforward, SFSCs involve many different types of carrots and sales approaches. What advisors must therefore provide are benchmarks, rather than unique references valid for all. Rather than applying standardised procedures, they have to promote and support the diversity of models," explains Chiffoleau.

Hence, the need for consultancy to adapt to a wide range of heterogeneous situations and marketing models, highlighted by her INRAE colleague and project manager, Anne-Cécile Brit: "Counselling will not be the same for someone starting from scratch as for those already working in traditional farming, but wanting to shift to SFSC. Advisors can help farmers address unseen questions: how to allocate and manage your work and time so that you don't burn out, what income you aim for, how to set prices, but also how to navigate through regulations, product labelling and so on," she explains. The need for tailored counselling is confirmed by Brittany Agriculture Chamber's Didier Mahé, who worked on a project developed by the French breeding institute Idèle to support farmers in short food supply chains. "For those starting with SFSC, the first questions usually concern the available land where to set up, which is often neither the best nor the most strategically located with respect to consumers. Then they have concerns about how to fit out their facilities and comply with the local planning, how to identify the best products to market, what clients to target, etc.", he explains.

Consider Florence, a former engineer turned goat cheese producer, who meticulously followed advice when launching her business. Despite her efforts, selling her cheese proved challenging and "market days were hell", recounts Idele's Christine Guinamard. "She and her husband woke up at 4 a.m. to milk the goats, then she went home to look after her children and take them to school, and finally she took over from her husband at the market so that he could leave for work. It was an unbearable rhythm and after 3 years they broke down." While counselling made Florence realise that she needed to hire help, her experience is far from unique. "Burnout may occur in SFSCs because they demand managing multiple responsibilities but advisors can step in to prevent it. They can help reorganise the work, identify the most suitable equipment, and facilitate collective action to share tasks, while giving advice to maintain group cohesion," explains Chiffoleau. But according to Guinamard, the setup and economic aspects of SFSCs are especially crucial for the success of SFSCs. "To ensure success and prevent businesses from failing, counselling must strongly emphasise workload management, realistic pricing, and financial planning," she recommends.

Fair retribution of farmers is one more crucial element, often overlooked when thinking of food sustainability. Yet, Daniel and Denise's story proves its pivotal role also in the capability to shift towards a more environment-friendly agriculture. "When supermarkets are your only customers, and they don't want aphids on their salads, you are forced to eradicate them to comply with their standards. But when you break free from those constraints, you can adopt sustainable methods and focus on quality and environmental respect," they explained. When Thil was working on his graphic novel, Daniel also told him that for this to be possible, prices must not be set by supply and demand, but by "real elements, such as the farm's expenses and the remuneration of the work, divided by the number of people that the farm is able to feed". "This is what he called 'the just price for food'," concludes Thil. "He said that if it's higher there is speculation, if it's lower, exploitation."

Article by Diego Giuliani

Photo credits: Leonardo Improta

Contributors:

Tristan Thil

Yuna Chiffoleau

Anne-Cécile Brit

Didier Mahé

Christine Guinamard

Contacts:

Project coordinator:

Gianluigi De Pascale
gianluigi.depascale@unifg.it

University of Foggia

Communication Manager:

Leonardo Improta
leonardo.improta@icons.it

Fondazione ICONS

Project website: https://shortfoodchain.eu/

Facebook: COREnet

LinkedIn: COREnet

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