EAAE WEBINAR 4: IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF EU AGRI-FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS TO THE BENEFIT OF SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS

European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) Webinar 4: Improving the functioning of EU agri-food supply chains to the benefit of small-scale producers

Date: November 4, 2020
Time: 16.00-17.30 (GMT+1)
Organiser: Liesbeth Dries

Small-scale farms make up the majority of productive entities in EU agriculture. Likewise, the EU food and drink industry is dominated by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In recent years, concerns have risen about their socio-economic sustainability and market power in the food chain. Several EU policy initiatives have emerged (e.g., food quality schemes and innovation partnerships), to strengthen the position of small-scale producers in the food supply chain, tackle unfair trading practices and better support the marketability of their products. To date, limited systematic evidence is available about the impact of these EU policies on involved actors and the supply chain conditions that support the desired outcomes.

The webinar brings together insights from three EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects: Valumics (grant agreement No 72724); Strength2Food (grant agreement No 678024); SUFISA (grant agreement No 635577). The presentations: (i) identify appropriate indicators for measuring the resilience, sustainability and inclusiveness of agri-food value chains across Europe (ii) provide comprehensive evidence of the impact of short food supply chain initiatives on small-scale producers in the EU; (iii) discuss under what institutional and governance conditions supply chains are effective tools for improving the fortunes of small-scale producers.

Talks

1. Assessment of fairness and market power in food value chains through simulation modelling
(Olafsdottir, G., McGarraghy, S., Kasakov, R., Gubrandsdottir, I.Y., Aubert, P.M., Cechura, L., Samoggia, A., Esposito, G., Loveluck, W., Huber, E., Thakur, M., Mehta, S., Barling, D., Gresham, J., Duric, I. , Jamali Jaghdani, T., Bogason, S.G.)

2. How sustainable are EU short food supply chains? Empirical evidence and recommendations
(Barbara Tocco; Gunnar Vittersø; Agata Malak-Rawlikowska; Edward Majewski)

3. Managing market uncertainty through vertical and horizontal coordination in the food chain
(Erik Mathijs; Damian Maye; Mauro Vigani; Hannah Chiswell; Isabelle Bonjean; Eewoud Lievens)