engleski

Emerging new food networks as an alternative for local agricultural production

Local food production has always been a part of tradition and an important component of life in rural areas in the Republic of Croatia. Recently, the great benefits of locally produced food for human health, community and economy have been recognized. This is one of the reasons why there is increasing interest in developing innovative food supply chains. They include locally produced agricultural products available on the local markets where farmers directly sell those products to the consumer, including a maximum of one intermediary. Locally produced food, or local food in general, is original and authentic in terms of the cultural identity of the area, traditional manufacturing practices and the origin of the ingredients of a product. The development of local food production has multiple benefits - economic, environmental, health and social. By using short supply chains, local producers can benefit greater share of product added value. The aim of the paper is to determine how adequate cooperation between farmers and consumers, forms of marketing engagement, and possible producer association influence the development of effective short supply chains at the local level. The purpose of the paper is to show that the organizations of short supply chains at the local level are an element of encouraging stronger development of competitive and efficient local agricultural production. A survey was conducted on a sample of farmers in the Koprivnica-Križevci and Međimurje counties in order to gain insight into the opinions and views of farmers about the agricultural production they are dealing with and the ways of distribution and marketing of their products. The target group of respondents consisted of a total of 110 farmers. The research on the agri-food sector of the Koprivnica-Križevci and Međimurje counties, based on the obtained data, shows local peculiarities and potentials for the development of short supply chains. The opinions and views of farmers regarding the development of short supply chains show that such development is inseparable from the characteristics of local agricultural production and the capacity of the local community.

short supply chains, agriculture, local food production, local food, marketing and distribution of locally produced food

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