Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
reputation (it was acknowledged by a visit from Prince Charles in 2010, who met with
certified producers), issues continue to emerge. There is currently some conflict between
organic farmers who pursue economic profit, and environmentalists who are often
newcomers to the region, who emphasize nature conservation values. Linking local
certification with new national schemes, which are now heavily supported by the state, is
also a challenge; as is how to sell the products, as retail chains are unsupportive. The
initiative also faces problems accessing the glass bottle deposit sche me controlled by large
beverage producers. At present, bottles are not returned to cider producers, making it less
competitive than more commercial operations. Local people have also become less and less
active in activities undertaken in the region and those who are not involved have developed
a rhetoric that the initiative is 'working only for itself' in the sense of operating solely to
benefit its members.
The Greek niche (initiated in the late 1980s) operating in the Plastiras Lake area of the
Karditsa region (a mountainous area in central Greece) introduced an organizational
innovation into the local economy through a new form of governance related to the 'Local
Quality Convention'. The formal goal of the Convention included upgrading income and
improving living standards through the protection of the environment and strengthening of
local tourism services. The Convention came about as a response to challenges faced in the
area (few employment opportunities for local people) through the active involvement of a
range of actors (often the descendants of the original inhabitants who had recently moved
back to the locality, bringing with them their experiences from other businesses) and a set
of obligations and rules for participating enterprises. The scheme concerned aesthetic
standards for various facilities related to rural tourism (information signs, kiosks for selling
local products and also conservation and promotion of culinary heritage using local
products). The key actor in the initiative was the ANKA development agency, established
in 1989, which brought together various actors and organizations (e.g. the Union of
Agricultural Cooperatives or Local Union of Municipalities) operating in the region. The
agency is a member of multiple networks (with universities, research centres and other
development agencies) and is, thus, important for networking and providing information to
those 'in need' in the locality. Other important networks are those of new entrepreneurs
(non-rural individuals who come back to the area of their origin) which span extended
extra-local networks.
From 1999, the initiative aimed to include quality in all aspects of the local economy
through a process assured by a certification scheme.
Koutsouris (2009) has outlined the
method of social and spatial deliberation developed by ANKA for the formation of the
Local Quality Convention. The phases of development reflect the problems experienced by
the Convention. Although it had previously been considered an example of success,
because its ideas were adopted by 11 regional development agencies in the Pindos
Mountains at the time that LEADER 1 ended, by the mid-2000s, the initiative had lost
internal coherence and strength. This loss of coherence became obvious when opportunistic
behaviour emerged (in the form of personal and parochial political attacks on the first
president of the Convention). These problems continued to derail the purpose of the
initiative and it became vulnerable. It was not able to foster sufficient collective action in
the area, as it became an instrumental arrangement preoccupied with its members' interests
and dominated by new entrepreneurs. The three cases are discussed further below.
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