One of the most popular was the panel dedicated to Farmer Markets, the increasingly popular markets around the world where farmers sell their products directly. During the meeting organized as part of the XNUMXth edition of the Food Journalism Festival, the state of the art of this market reality was reviewed in the presence of some of the most important representatives in the sector: Richard McCarthy the World Farmers Markets Coalition; Dennis Andaye Founder RightEats and Organic Farmers Market - Kenya; Selorm Akaba Coordinator for the Farmers Markets Program at University of Cape Coast and Projcet Manager for Ghana Farmers Markets Network and Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, President of the Universe Foundation and President of the Scientific Committee of the Campagna Amica Foundation.
Richard McCarthy: “The success of Farmer Markets is now a worldwide phenomenon. In the United States alone, they have grown by 400% over the past decade. What makes them successful is the direct link between consumer and producer, a contact point that allows the passage of fundamental information for conscious and sustainable consumption, such as the seasonality of products or the most natural methods for cultivation. The advantage is not only for the end user but also for the producer himself, who in this supply chain sees a reduction in the economic risk of unsold items. Farmer Markets are real institutions capable of triggering a change in consumer awareness. In order not to interrupt this positive trend, it is necessary that the policy comes to the aid, through incentives and subsidies to families so that they choose fresh and not too processed products ".
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio: “The fundamental incentive for the diffusion of Farmer Markets are the rules. We must remove the bureaucracy that is affecting the workers in the agricultural sector. Only since 2001 has it been possible for producers to carry out direct sales and processing. We must ensure that for a young producer it is simple and immediate to be able to arrive on the square of agricultural markets, which are increasingly acquiring not only an ecological value but also an educational one ".
Dennis Andaye: “In Kenyai there are many problems related to ethical and sustainable cultivation. In recent years we have had to completely rethink the production cycle because the implementation of some European practices - such as intensive cultivation or the use of chemical and toxic agents - had impoverished and polluted our soils. Added to this are political obstacles, such as the fact that seeds cannot be exchanged between producers. Farmers' markets are an effective alternative to all this, in which to access healthy and good food, not so easy to find in Kenya.
Selorm Akaba: “The farmers' markets in Ghana were born only a year ago but a few months ago we managed to build a network of eleven farmer markets, present in three districts of the country. They have proved to be a very effective tool in the fight against the consumption of junk food and in making consumers aware of the quality of the food they buy. The benefits are also there for producers who see increasing not only revenues but also consumer respect. There is no doubt that they have a very strong social impact: they have allowed the rebirth of a healthy cooking culture that was disappearing ".
