The role of public administrations in promoting open municipalmarkets (original) (raw)

Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems, 2022

Abstract

Agroecological transitions require steps to be taken to shorten food circuits thatprioritize local food markets and their social dimension. Such a measure wouldinclude open municipal markets (OMMs) because of their role in promoting the socialnature of the agroecological transitions. In rural areas, OMMs managed by publicadministrations are facing a major crisis. This paper aims to decipher the claims ofthe actors involved in the OMM crisis and to focus on strategies that could be takenby municipalities. Semistructured questionnaires, direct observations, and participa-tive workshops with stallholders, consumers, local producers, and the researchersof the university were used to analyze social relationships within the framework ofOMMs in the Province of Girona, Catalonia. The actors revealed a lack of connec-tion between collectives and within the same group of stallholders. The absence ofshared aspirations, along with the scant interest of public bodies in investing in themarkets or recognizing their economic and social role, have all contributed to thecurrent decline in OMMs. Open municipal markets are an active asset that are at riskof being abandoned in remote rural areas. If the actors in the market could collabo-rate, this would help to encourage the local economy and community cohesion andto actively promote the social dimension of the agroecological transitions.

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