Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
stream partners from the regime, who guarantee a significant economic return, and,
therefore, allow these intermediaries to afford the high costs of their equipment). Food
processing industries are tightly coupled to supermarkets and streamlined to provide large
amounts of standardized products. For firms processing and providing produce to
restaurants, the development of local food chains would imply an increase in the number
of partnerships with local farmers, which would generate a logistical problem that they are
not prepared to solve. Some local initiatives have been experimenting (such as the project
'Prefer Local', designed to organize a local chain providing meat for local butchers) but
they have stopped short as soon as the subsidies supporting their development were
removed.
In Santorini, the farmers initially resisted because the technical changes expected of
them had a strong impact on their working conditions and their individual and collective
identity. Harvesting 1 month earlier, in August rather than in September, requires the
dedication of family labour to farming whilst the tourism season is at its peak. Most
farmers rely on multiple small income streams based on wine and tourism activities.
Farmers also objected to changing vine cultivation practices, as the new practices have
changed the unique vineyard landscape of Santorini. Furthermore, most farmers were
older, often cultivating vines for traditional and/or sentimental reasons, rather than purely
commercial rationales.
Overcoming resistance
In Rennes, the resistance of intermediary actors to become involved in local short supply
chains was partially overcome thanks to various, sometimes contradictory, dynamics.
During the first stages of niche existence, farmers managed to do without the
intermediaries (the latter representing 'the missing actor') and even developed various
strategies to avoid them. The idea was mainly to integrate processing activities on -farm,
for two reasons: first, from an economic perspective, it allowed farmers to retain a larger
amount of the added value on the farm; second, from an institutional perspective (closely
connected to the first point) farmers understood the role of intermediaries as capturing as
much of the value added as possible in the food chain, cementing regime dynamics in
their favour. Partnerships were neither needed nor desired, mainly because few
intermediaries shared the niche's perspective of quality and autonomy of production.
More recently, this dynamic has evolved with a new generation of local food chain
projects which have integrated intermediaries. This dynamic was driven by larger volumes
of produce and higher levels of consumer demand, illustrating the strength and importance
of the 'niche tandem' which reinforces transition dynamics. A new type of intermediary
actor was created and integrated into the niche dynamic: butchers, logistics, restaurants
and cooks either changed their practices or appeared as newcomers with innovative
practices. All now understand their activity as a necessary and innovative vector of
connection between producers and consumers. Different drivers explain their new
attitudes. Some actors are 'generated' by the niche, such as small collective abattoirs
managed either by farmers acting alone, or in partnership with a butcher. Other actors had
previously existed but sought to escape from the regime, not least due to economic
difficulties. This was the case of an abattoir in Rostrenen which was so pressured by
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