Organic, EPGs and the Web: the elements of evolution
Chemistry for agriculture
All
the author's journeys
Agriculture and the agri-food industry in Italy are really going back to their roots. Before, people would go out to buy fresh eggs, while today direct selling is becoming an important asset for farms. The distribution systems are changing radically: today’s farmers have learned to associate with one another, to collectively take their products directly to the market, and consumers too, through buying groups, have changed the way they buy food in the countryside. Distribution is evolving in three main directions: organic, EPGs and the Web. The boom in demand for organic products has led to an increase in direct supply and demand. EPGs – Ethical Purchasing Groups – have without a doubt been an important component in bringing about this revolution, incentivising farms and agri-food producers to develop their commercial skills and vertically integrate their production chains. The third element is the rapid rise of e-commerce. Even though the volume of online sales of food in Italy is low compared to other countries with more mature economies, the trend has been confirmed so much so that even the biggest organised distribution chains have opened innovative commercial channels. Furthermore, e-commerce has already become part of most Italian farm businesses. Another step forward in the development of distribution channels is represented by the organised commercialisation of agri-food products in farming cooperatives as the final link in the production chain in view of multifunctional agriculture. Here too, pressure from the organic producers was an important factor in the promotion of commercial aggregation. Today the distribution scenario is radically changed: supply chains are shorter, small producers tend to aggregate into a critical mass, using quality and homogeneous production processes as a common denominator, and there is also a new awareness among consumers who are more open to listening to what agriculture has to say.
