New value systems

Social, environmental, and economic sustainability is being gradually integrated into the agri-food value chain, with a view to implement sustainable business models that can address end users’ concerns about the food purchased and consumed.

SPECIFIC R&I BREAKTHROUGH TOPICS

Business models for the primary sector: These models are increasingly seeking to create positive value for a wider group of stakeholders, the environment and society, without compromising profits. Some examples are direct supply chains, added value using principles of ecology, new consumer approaches through joint sales, and distribution co-operatives.
Short food value chains: Chains where food products are identified by and traceable to a farmer, and for which the number of intermediaries between farmer and consumer are minimal. They can be face-to-face, when consumers buy a product directly from the producer/processor (eg on-farm sales, farmers’ markets); sales in proximity, when products are produced and retailed in the region of production (eg food co-operatives, specialist retailers, public procurement, catering, supermarkets); or sales at distance, when products are produced outside of the region of purchase (eg PDO, PGI, internet sales, box schemes).
Microcredit and microfinance: Options enabling people to obtain small loans at reasonable interest rates, receive remittances from relatives working abroad, safeguard their savings and set up small businesses. For example, Crowdfunding aims to pool rather small amounts of capital from a large number of people, primarily through fundraising platforms, and has grown in importance as a financing tool.
Social innovation: The assembling of practices that allow agri-food businesses to collect ideas from an external environment that trigger innovation processes and increase their competitiveness, while meeting social needs. For example, the share of agri-food co-operatives in the EU is rising, as they increasingly offer employment opportunities and hold substantial market share in industries. Platforms for surplus food recovery and redistribution are spreading in EU countries as well.

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