Direct Marketing to consumer (on-farm)


Concept

Agricultural producer sales directly to private consumers at the farm without any intermediaries and preliminary agreements between the two parties (in contrast to community supported agriculture or public procurement). Here the point of sale is the farm which implies that the consumer has to travel to the farmer´s site (place of production) and transport the food home (place of consumption).

There exist different forms like farm shops and street stands offering fresh and processed food from the single farmer and sometimes from the nearby farms or pick-your-own schemes, where the consumer harvest the produce for their own and pay an agreed price for it. Direct sale on-farm can be combined with cafés or restaurants as well as leisure or educational activities on the farm. Food distributed in direct marketing is often related with certain product attributes like quality, organic, territorial origin or cultural heritage.


Photo Direct marketing 2.3.1
Figure 1: Farm shop in Brodowin (Brandenburg, Germany). Source: Fördergemeinschaft Ökologischer Landbau Berlin-Brandenburg e. V.

Contribution to shortening food supply chains

Direct marketing on-farm is a traditional and quite popular distribution channel for regional food as well as intervention field for rural development policies. Attracting urban consumers to visit rural areas for shopping and/or tourism have multiplier effects for the regional economy. It is providing an opportunity for direct and personal communication between consumers and producers (face-to-face) as well as transparency and trust for the consumer about the origin of food. For the farmer achieving higher prices for their produce is beneficial.


Photo Direct marketing 2.3.2
Figure 2: Inside view of the farm shop in Brodowin (Brandenburg, Germany). Source: Fördergemeinschaft Ökologischer Landbau Berlin-Brandenburg e. V.

Committee of the Regions 2011: Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on 'Local food systems' (2011/C 104/01). Available from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:104:0001:0006:EN:PDF

Karner, S. et al. 2010: Local food systems in Europe: Case studies from five countries and what they imply for policy and practice. IFZ Graz. Available from: http://www.faanweb.eu/sites/faanweb.eu/files/FAAN_Booklet_PRINT.pdf

Kneafsey, M. et al. 2013: Short Food Supply Chains and Local Food Systems in the EU: A State of Play of their Socio‐Economic Characteristics. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Available from: http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC80420.pdf

Peters, R. et al. 2012: Local Food and Short Supply Chains. EU Rural Review No. 12. Available from: http://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrd-static/fms/pdf/E8F24E08-0A45-F272-33FB-A6309E3AD601.pdf

Renting, H., T.K. Marsden and J. Banks 2003: Understanding alternative food networks: exploring the role of short food supply chains in rural development. In: Environment and Planning A, Vol. 35, p. 393-411.