Emilia Schmitt

Assessing the degree of localness of food value chains

ABSTRACT Consumers’ interest in local food has recently increased, even if the distinction between local and global food still remains unclear. Aside from the concept of food-miles, no metrics exist to quantify the level of “localness” of a product. In this study, five criteria for making this distinction are derived from the literature: geographical distance, supply chain size, supply chain length, identity, and governance. Two case studies from the Swiss cheese sector are analyzed using these criteria in order to illustrate the application of the framework and to show the differences in their localness. On average, the local cheese obtains a degree of localness of 56% and the global one achieves 31%. There are small differences in “geographical distance” and “supply chain length”; but the distinction lies more in “supply chain size,” “identity,” and “governance.” This study shows that these cheeses hide a local–global hybridity, by promoting local attributes and values while being embedded in international markets.

The potential of digital platforms to facilitate the diffusion of diversification strategies in agriculture

The agricultural landscape of Switzerland is dominated by industrialized but struggling milk production. Producers are facing ever-falling prices, environmental changes and increasing requirements for state supports. Facing these challenges, some farmers have developed their own products for niche markets, adopted rare or ancient breeds or demonstrated the capacity to adopt income-generating innovations. The diversification of agricultural production on farms and within whole regional landscapes has further advantages than just income diversification. It offers adaptation and buffer capacity in case of economic crisis or environmental changes and it makes the agro-ecosystem more resistant to pests and diseases and distributes risks. However, the majority of farms still encounters barriers in changing crops and diversifying. Interviews with producers in this study revealed that the main challenges are the lack of technical information about rare crops and breeds, the need to identify adapted crops and equipment to the location and the personal motivations that require an entrepreunarial or risk-taker personality. Information technologies and particularly new tools in the area of social networking could play an important role in increasing access to information and connections between peers, even internationally, and deserve more attention in the transition to sustainable agriculture. Interviews with market actors revealed multiple potentials for niche products, but also the need for increased availability of market information to producers. Social media are also starting to be used for this purpose. This study thus looked into the potential of multi-stakeholder online platforms and the role of key actors for the diffusion of innovation and niche products in agriculture and identified current limitations where efforts could be put to increase support to diversifying producers.

Sustainability comparison of a local and a global milk value chains in Switzerland

Local food generally has a positive image, supported among consumers by the perception of reduced negative impacts on the environment and other dimensions. However, a critical analysis of local food chains’ performance in comparison with more global ones is still needed to objectively assess the real benefits and drawbacks of local and global food chains. A careful analysis needs to be conducted to compare the sustainability performance of local food value chains with global ones. In this paper, the methodology of selecting a set of attributes and indicators of performance to compare the multi-dimensional performance of a local with a global food chain is presented. A specific selection of attributes of performance around five sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, health and ethical) is used to measure and evaluate two Swiss milk chains’ performances and compare the local chain with the global one.