Consumers’ and farmers’ characteristics in short food supply chains: an exploratory analysis

Abstract

A "farmers' market" identifies a common area where farmers meet periodically to sell food products which do not need to be processed before consumption. Farmers' markets have recently experienced steady growth mainly due to increasing demand for traditional foods and rising consumers' interest towards locally produced food products. It is also the case that they provide transparency along the supply chain and decrease information asymmetries. This study attempts to define the farmers and consumers of farmers' markets in terms of both their socio-demographic and their attitudinal characteristics. Data gathering was performed carrying out face-to-face interviews with sixty farmers and consumers. The study findings show that the majority of consumers purchasing at farmers' markets are women, with an average age of 49 and with a high level of education. They attach great value to the availability of fresh and organic products with a good value for money. Farmers, by contrast, are mainly male, with an average age of 45 years, a high school degree and several years of experience in farming. They value more the creation of a direct and durable relationship with consumers in order to convey information about the quality and authenticity of their products. The study offers useful implications to policy makers on how to encourage the creation of farmers' markets as well as spread the shared value created among farmers and consumers.

Consumers’ Preferences for Wine Attributes: A Best-Worst Scaling Analysis

“…As for the purchasing habits, respondents stated to purchase wine directly at the producer. This behaviour suggests that on one hand, the preference of consumers towards local food product characterized by high social benefits [35][36][37][38], whilst on the other hand, their willingness to support the economic growth of local community [39,40]. Further, the study uncovered that consumers spend roughly €10.00 per a bottle of wine and up to €20.00 in wine monthly.…”

Exploring producers' motivations and challenges within a farmers' market

“…Thus, it may facilitate contrary replication based on the comparison of emergent findings and existing theory (Eisenhardt, 1989;Yin, 2014). In line with Stake's (1994) view, our approach is an instrumental case study. Therefore, the focus is not on understanding the selected case, but on understanding something in particular, specifically the motivations and challenges of producers within the selected case.…”

“…The main focus is on producers' motivations to engage in SFSCs and their challenges. Accordingly, this research relies on the use of case study research (Stake, 1994;Yin, 2014). This method has been chosen because it facilitates a more comprehensive study of social networks and the actions, decisions and motives that they involve (Feagin et al, 1991).…”

“…Whilst it is true that the number of FMs worldwide keeps growing, they have also been criticised for appealing to a particular demographic and excluding certain social groups (Colasanti et al , 2010; Garner and Ayala, 2018). In particular, several authors suggest that consumers who shop at FMs are women (Onianwa et al , 2006; Stanco et al , 2019; Ylitalo et al , 2019), who are highly educated (Wolf et al , 2005; Aguirre Gonzaléz, 2009; Spilková, 2018) and have a high income (Onianwa et al , 2006; Baker et al , 2009). However, other studies suggest that evidence to support such claims is inconclusive and therefore propose that FMs' consumer base may be diversifying (Wolf et al , 2005; Byker et al , 2012).…”

The Topic of the Ideal Dairy Farm Can Inspire How to Assess Knowledge about Dairy Production Processes: A Case Study with Students and Their Contributions

“…In view of the growing awareness of consumers, the thematic area of agriculture and food economy becomes a subject of permanent interest due to the need for access to high-quality food products. High-quality food products are the result of care for the production environment and improvement of individual links in the chain connecting farms and consumers on the market [8]. In this chain, the key role can be assigned to the farm as a place to achieve specific production goals, which are subject to detailed assessment.…”