COVID-19 could transform food systems for the better

Camille Poutrin is a consultant at GreenFlex, a French advisory company, and says that a lot of businesses are responding with a renewed focus on local production which could boost rural resilience in the long term.

How have agri-food businesses been affected by the coronavirus pandemic?

We spoke to some clients in the food sector and generally found that they are doing quite well – the companies are all still working and were able to introduce the right precautions. There were some who did not have their full workforce, but they were still able to maintain production. One cooperative working directly with farmers and an agri-food company have experienced very high demand from the end clients because one of the only things you can currently buy is food.

At the state-level, the French government is starting to think that maybe it is not the best idea to depend on other countries like China for medicines or food, which could lead to more support for local enterprises. There are more people supporting local systems too because they would prefer to get food delivered to their door rather than go to the supermarket where they can be exposed. Consumers are rediscovering the food system in that way.

Do you think farmers will come through this situation stronger than before?

It could end up being positive for farmers because consumers are learning about their local supply of food. There are more people shopping closer to home and, I’m not sure if it will stay like that, but even if half of people go back to the typical supermarket, it can still be positive for short, local and organic markets. There are also some French supermarkets proposing to supply more French food in their stores because all the smaller markets and distribution circuits were closed so they bought some of this production. In one week it was possible to shift that supermarket’s behaviour towards more local production.

What needs to happen to make sure this better future is achieved for rural economies?

We are fighting for a ‘relocalisation for food transformation’. This is about farmers turning their harvests into new products with added value and eventually new revenue streams. It could be about creating local food businesses or maybe a small cooperative of a few farmers transforming their vegetables into something new and then selling it to nearby markets, like schools. It is better for the resilience of a territory if a group works together to transform their agriculture products directly for their municipality.

This is an opportunity to help improve farmers their reputation too. Parts of the public think they are poisoning the environment or responsible for climate change and don't really understand how farmers operate. Now farmers and cooperatives have an opportunity to change the situation, but they need education to help these farmers or business to better communicate the good things they are doing. They need to understand how to communicate that agriculture is not just about producing food, but also supporting rural economies and protecting local environments. With the help of Rubizmo, we are offering training and coaching sessions as well as conference to help agriculture stakeholders develop different these types of understanding, as well as solutions, through this current situation.

Interview by Steve Gillman

Photo by toinane on Unsplash