J. Robin Moon (JRM): TELL ME ABOUT YOU – YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND, YOUR PERSONAL STORY, YOUR CONNECTION TO THE FOOD SYSTEM AT LARGE.

Marcello De Rosa (MDR): I am a professor of Agrifood Economics at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Department of Economics and Law. I got my Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics and Policy at the University of Naples. With the support and guidance of my mentor, Professor Enrico Turri, the head of Agricultural Economics at the University of Naples, my research was oriented on territorial approaches and agrifood systems analysis. In my studies, I assume the relevance of territorial anchoring in boosting economic processes. 

Another theoretical approach that has affected my studies is the LAS (Localized Agrifood Systems) research network, defined by Muchnik (1996) as “production and service organizations (units of agricultural production, agrifood enterprises, markets and stores, restaurants services, etc.), that are linked by their characteristics and by their relationship to a specific territory.” The LAS points out a dual interpretation: on the one hand, it is a concrete object, made up of visible agrifood activities that are territorially concentrated. On the other hand, it is an analytical approach whose purpose is to identify, specify, and valorize local resources, by linking natural and human factors on a local scale. The LAS research network opened new frontiers for research on territorial approaches for me: Within the larger economic mechanisms, embedded are social, cultural, traditional, and other values specific at the territorial level. Robert Putnam’s warning is always on my mind: “Development economists take note: civics matter!” 

JRM: HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN WORKING WITH WORLDFMC?

MDR: My involvement in the WorldFMC originated in 2020 when I was asked to be part of an ambitious project to create an international organization of farmers markets, specifically to conduct and co-author its first report on farmers markets in eight countries around the globe. In this alternative model of agriculture, farmers are not the weakest link of a globalized system, but they are visible protagonists of a new mode of food provisioning, aimed to reconnect consumers and producers, through the promotion of localized agrifood systems. 

JRM: TELL ME ABOUT THE REPORT YOU WROTE WITH/FOR WORLDFMC. WHAT WAS THE PROCESS (DURING THE THICK OF THE PANDEMIC), WHAT DID YOU LEARN, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK IS NEEDED FOR THE FIELD?

MDR: I was put in touch with the representatives of farmers markets from the first eight countries that we analyzed in the first report: Australia, Denmark, Ghana, Italy, Japan, Norway, the UK, and the USA. 

This experience has been of great importance to me and has allowed me to be part of a dynamic process that is now known as a huge expansion all across the world. What we learned from this research is that we cannot assume a singular form of an agrifood system, but diverse and varied regional agricultural worlds of production. Thus, I learned that behind the term “farmers markets,” many typologies of activities are at stake. Therefore, it is necessary to be rigorous in delimiting the field of analysis and avoiding possible generalization of a rigorous governance system. I would also stress that our experience with the first report has clearly demonstrated the importance of governance mechanisms and participatory nature of effective farmers markets. We can identify these organizations as “managed” farmers markets, where shared rules of conduct and collective action characterize the activities and the sustainable procedures of these alternative food networks. 

JRM: TELL ME ABOUT WHAT FM MEANS TO YOU IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE. ALSO, TELL ME WHAT FARMERS MARKETS MEAN TO PEOPLE IN ITALY.

MDR: In my opinion, a farmers market is a social space comprised of financial transactions and shared cultural experiences. For many years, we have been analyzing the agrifood system from a monolithic perspective, considering the agro-industrial paradigm as the only possible scenario. As Van der Ploeg always points out, the “techno-economic” model based on agro-industrial food systems claims superiority because it assumes efficiency. To the best of my knowledge, within a dominant globalized mode of food provisioning, farmers markets represent an alternative. Alternative food networks may become the solution as a way to escape the negative effects of the current dominant agrifood system by:

  • Solving the contractual weakness of the farmers who cannot recover the costs of production due to their subordinate position in the (globalized) agrifood supply chain;
  • Reducing the negative externalities of the agro-industrial paradigm;
  • Increasing access to fresh and healthy food for urbanites;
  • Supporting rural communities and helping their resilience. 

JRM: WHAT IS YOUR VISION OF YOUR FARMERS MARKETS AS PART IF THE LOCAL, ALTERNATIVE FOOD SYSTEMS AND SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS?

MDR: My vision is based on the idea that, as consumers, we have a “political role” in addressing the agrifood system’s new trajectories. These new paths are grounded on the local embeddedness (social, political, and cultural) of production-consumption networks. Various positive examples of community-supported agriculture and alternative food networks provide clear evidence of the alternative’s soundness. The reconnection between consumers and producers fosters new territorial proximities, which join the geographical proximity to organized proximity, where rules of collective action must be shared. This is why, in my view, an authentic farmers market is one with management where common rules are set up and where consumers play a pivotal role. Thus the reputation of farmers markets is built on collective action, and it is not an easy achievement. 

Farmers markets are now considered a tool for promoting sustainable farming systems, but also to provide consumers with healthy food. The analyses carried out by Robin Moon clearly point out the positive impact of alternative food networks in providing healthy food and contributing to building up sustainable farming systems. As the demand for more markets and better food access from alternative food networks increase, we must not put the authentic farmers markets at risk of “commodification.” 

JRM: CAN YOU SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE LATEST PROTESTS IN ITALY AND FRANCE (AND ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE) BY FARMERS, AND WHAT THIS MEANS IN THE GREATER AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS?

MDR: The latest farmers’ protests in France and Italy represent a clear example of the negative effects of the globalized mode of food provisioning. I do believe that the protests cannot exclusively be attributed to the recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which has called for stricter environmental requirements for the producers. On the other hand, I would say this has been “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” It is undeniable that the agrifood system is depicted as an hourglass, where the farmers are identified as the bottleneck of the supply chain. In the current agrifood systems, contractual arrangements often penalize the farmers, and despite the directive which prohibits unfair trade practices (approved in 2018), these unfair practices are continuously adopted by the big retailers with whom the farmers have relationships. Of course, we must also recognize that the higher constraints the European farmers have to face may bring about an opposite process of increasing the import from non-European countries, which do not always have the same quality and compliance requirements we have at the European level. This represents a risk of “importing unsustainability.” In this regard, consumers may play a relevant role in changing the rules of the game; they can take on a political role in shaping new relationships across the food supply chain. For instance, by modifying their dietary habits, they could contribute to sustaining the short food supply chain, thus contributing to decreased negative externalities of the food supply chain and corresponding fair prices to the farmers. It must also be pointed out that at farmers markets, contrary to conventional belief, the products are not always more costly than in conventional markets; This is a critical point to raise and for which evidence must be created, to increase a larger consumer base and to promote farmers markets more broadly.

 

ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE:

Marcello De Rosa: Marcello De Rosa is a professor of Agrifood Economics at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio in Italy, Department of Economics and Law, and a researcher of localized agrifood systems.