Science-Policy-Interfaces

The Science-Policy-Interface (SPI) in South West England will focus on an analysis of the Food Hub managed by the Community Interest Company (CIC) Tamar Grow Local (TGL). The Food Hub has been in operation for nearly ten years and serves as a vehicle for connecting local suppliers in the Tamar Valley (Devon/Cornwall border) with local consumers. The Hub comprises an on-line retail site (using Open Food Network software) through which producers market their products (meat, vegetables, fruit, fish, juices) with weekly deliveries managed centrally by TGL staff who also provide wider business support to suppliers who require it. Whilst the Hub has proved itself to be an inspirational example of a short supply chain food system model, it’s success has largely depended on the altruism of TGL staff, trustees and a network of volunteers. The VISIONARY team will work with Food Hub stakeholders to understand what are the barriers to the Food Hub expanding and becoming economically resilient over the long term. Though primary and secondary research, we will seek to better understand the current blockers and what change is needed (in government policy, legislation, consumer habits, other) to help the Food Hub (and others like it) grow and flourish. The SPI will contain two types of individual: (1) ‘primary actors’ and (2) ‘secondary actors’. Primary actors are practitioners who are/could be directly involved in TGL Hub operational activities (e.g. staff, trustees, producers, customers, operational partners). Secondary actors are those who set policy/regulatory/funding frameworks which have an influence on TGL Hub activities or who might play a role in helping/leveraging TGL Hub activities in the future (e.g. Local Authorities, academics/technology providers, funding agencies/entities, business support organisations, Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs), Open Food Network etc). These secondary actors exist at a local level (i.e Cornwall/Devon) but they are also based at a regional and national level.

The Spanish Science-Policy-Interface (SPI) will be based on assessing how to approach cooperative dairy production to make it sustainable. One of the most relevant aspects being worked on in this regard is the reduction of the carbon footprint of milk production. However, given that the Spanish dairy sector is considered a vulnerable group that competes at low prices with a product that is a global commodity, it is essential to analyse the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of milk production in great depth. Thus, the aim is to provide knowledge on relevant aspects related to this end, ranging, for example, from animal feed management to CO2 compensation mechanisms, with a view to both social perception and the environmental approach and the necessary economic support mechanisms. This will be done through a cross-cutting dialogue with dairy farmers, dairy cooperatives, dairy market actors, policymakers, and representatives of academia and research.

The SPI for the Local Gastronomic Points (LGPs) study case in Romania focuses on assessing the long-term sustainability of the LGPs business model. Smallholder farms in Romania (or more precisely, agricultural households) are managing approximately 45% of the total Utilized Agricultural Area. They have a very important role to play in local and regional food security, but relatively few are connected with modern food value chains. The Local Gastronomic Points scheme is a business model based on adding value to products from agricultural households by establishing small-scale, family-type public food establishments. Therefore, we aim to identify the key characteristics of the business model, its socio-economic impact on the small producers’ well-being, the specific conditions need for upscaling the scheme in different regions, as well as the profile of the consumers and the consumers' perceptions of the business model. We will engage with a diverse group of stakeholders: the initiators of the Local Gastronomic Points scheme, the public authorities that coordinate and monitor the implementation of the scheme (National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, National Agency of the Mountain Zone), the private associations involved in the scheme (Gastro Local Association), the Local Gastronomic Points, and the customers of the LGPs.