28th August, 2013

Contributor:  Lyon

According to the latest consumption study led in Lyon’s urban area, the market for organic and local food products seems well known. Adding social and solidarity-based criteria is now the new challenge for several organizations of this field. They are working on synergizing stakeholders toward what could be the next major lever to strengthen local economy and upscale sustainable food consumption.  

Concept/ Motivations

In 2011, the 9^th edition of a major study about consumption has been led in the Lyon urban area. The results show that about 1 consumer on 2 buys organic products, and about the same amount buys products directly from the producers (23% of them buy at least once a month). This confirms both the ideas that the market of organic products is quite mature and that demand for short supply chain food products is increasing.

Beside, the State is supporting the rise of social and solidarity-based economy. Social and Solidarity Economy brings together initiatives that share some key characteristics: a socially useful purpose for an economic project based on democratic governance and ethical management, as well as dynamic development with a local territorial focus and civic commitment (source: Alternatives Economiques). Social economy puts the emphasis on legal and democratic governance; solidarity-based economy on the political project and the necessary mobilization of citizens.

Eager to stay forward thinking, several stakeholder and organizations from the sustainable food field are active members of the social and solidarity-based economy.

Result

• The FNAB is a major national NGO promoting and supporting organic agriculture development, based on a network of regional NGOs (CORABIO, ARDAB) working with producers and local authorities. In 2012, this network led a huge national study to list innovative projects that include social awareness in sustainable food production. They published a toolkit to promote the ideas and to help producers and public bodies to explore this field.
• The network PIRAT, acting on maintaining peri-urban agriculture link the NGOs
• PTCE
• Toolkit is the result
• Change scale
• Many small initiatives
• Involve elected representatives and producers
• Toolkit
• Several Conferences (september in Lyon)

Benefits

• Strengthen local economy
• Develop eco-friendly agriculture
• Develop social and fair economy

Pro and Contra

Contra:

• Too many stakeholders / organizations?
• Too much forward thinking? Too much ideology?
• The need of public money to start

Question to the network

• What can add URBACT?
• How to link those actions to a more pragmatic approach or stakeholder such as supermarkets?

References:

About the link in between short supply chains and social and solidarity-based economy:

http://www.lelabo-ess.org/IMG/pdf/Compte-rendu_Circuits-Courts_24062013.pdf

About the consumer survey in Lyon :

http://www.business.greaterlyon.com/fileadmin/user_upload/fichiers/site_eco/20121030_enquete_comportement_achat_menages_lyon_rhone_09_resutats.pdf.

About the PIRAT project:

www.agriculturepaysanne.org/files/plaquette-PIRAT-RV-BD.pdf‎

About the FNAB’s toolkit:

http://www.fnab.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=521:boites-a-outils-pour-le-developpement-de-circuits-de-proximite-a-dimension-sociale&catid=14:nos-publications&Itemid=23