Alternative Marketing Channels

 

In this cluster, the food demand connected to alternative marketing channels (AMC) is studied as a driver for the evolution of agriculture towards increased sustainability at the regional level.
 
The research focused on producers settled and marketing in the region, and on initiatives based on products produced, processed and marketed locally. The case studies were carried out in three locations, of which two are urban/peri-urban, and the third is an island with strong variations of population within and outside of the main tourist periods. Consequently, food demand is impacted on by those geographical situations.
● 1st area : The city of Pilsen (Plzen in Czech) and the surrounding rural region, in the Western part of Bohemia in Czech Republic.
● 2nd area : The city of Rennes and the surrounding communes, gathered in a “Pays” (administrative delimitation gathering in France the communes of a same local territory)
● 3rd area : the Island of Santorini, in the Cyclades Archipelago in Greece
 
The research considered the three primary functions of these cases: production, processing, and marketing & consumption. Additionally, the evolution toward urban lifestyles and urbanisation processes (with the specific case of tourism for the Greek case of Santorini) constitute a 4th function which interacts with the others. The dynamic of population (demographical, spatial and sociological evolutions) must thus be considered as a key factor for the development pathway of AMC. The new demands for food quality generated by those demographical and societal evolutions are also decisive for understanding the transition dynamics. This is true for the three case studies, with some variation between the regions.