Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Background to the Research
1.2. Theoretical Framework: Small Firm Growth and the ‘Interstices’
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. The Research Context: Munster, Ireland
2.2. Data Collection and Research Parameters
2.3. Analytic Strategy
3. Results
3.1. Documentary Analysis and Cluster Analysis of Small Artisan Food Producers
3.2. The Emergence and Endurance of ‘Interstices’
“You see there was no market for the food we made, we had to create a market […]. So, for us as small producers, we all started independently without any contact with each other, and Mrs. Allen pulled it all together. She said look there are all these cheese people, and fish mongers, and whatever, and it was all pulled together, and that creates a dynamic”.(Rolf, artisan fish smoker, #46)
“The first thing is she [Darina Allen] is the one, she fights for butchers who slaughter their own, she fights for artisans, who make black and white pudding, not the ones who use dried blood, but the ones who use fresh blood, which is very, very difficult. And free-range chicken producers, free range egg producers. All of these small high-quality people whom the health inspectors are crushing, or at that stage were crushing”.(Dan, artisan baker, #52)
“There is a lot of urban legends about not getting paid, they will stiff you and drive over you rough shot. But that is not true, those days are gone that might have been 40 years ago, but not now. The large retailers are very good to deal with and are very supportive of artisan producers and they want them on their shelves, and they do pay them on time”.(Brian, food consultant working with small food businesses, #7)
3.3. Mechanism: ‘Minding What You Make’
“All that matters is people getting the same satisfaction from the enjoyment of what we make, that is fundamental and the rest of it is irrelevant, as far as I am concerned […]. It is about minding what you make, caring for your customer […] minding the people that support us, and we mind the people we supply. That is the game”.(Rolf, artisan fish smoker, #46)
“Very few people handmake raw butter. There is a huge demand for it that we would never be able to satisfy. It is about making peace with that and recognising the way we think, is that every opportunity needs to be exploited. But we would be run off our feet and then we would lose what we do. It is hard to say no though”.(Dairy farmer, informal conversation, #81)
3.4. Mechanism: ‘Making Peace with Enough’
“You see really, you see it is all connected with sustainability. Are people satisfied to earn x amount and say I am so happy, I have got a good lifestyle, but I am only earning just this much. Or do they always have to be driving to be bigger and to be better and have more income, and far more outlay, and probably have the same amount. […] It is the kudos of having a bigger building or having the restaurant. I think it is the kudos. That is why people move on [from FMs]. They think they are going up a scale really”.(Kathy, FM founder and manager, #1)
“We are being told that food at markets and artisan food is high-end, but really this is the traditional food, this is the real food that we used to always eat. It is now being put forward in this way as a differentiation to the cheap food we buy in the supermarket”.(condiment producer, informal conversation, #94)
4. Discussion and Conclusions
- The connection and inter-relationship of like-minded producers, further emphasised by the reflexivity to ‘Know which game you are playing’;
- External boundaries of the producer market, further enforced through symbolic boundaries such as ‘guardians of the market’ and narratives such as ‘urban legends’, to ensure the structures of the market are protected to enable the mechanisms ‘Minding what you make’ and ‘Making peace with enough’;
- Establishing fair market exchange value for their products that encompasses valuing social and environmental values.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Level | Purpose | Types of Data | Data Collected | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|---|
Macro | Provides context to position FMs as ‘interstices’ within the structures of the Irish food system | Irish government strategies and farmers’ market documents | 3 National Food Strategies: Food Harvest 2020: published 2010 [69] Food Wise 2025: published 2015 [70] Food Vision 2030: published 2020 [60] Irish Government Strategy: Our Rural Future: published 2021 [72] Irish Food Board Strategy: Nurturing a Thriving Future: published 2022 [71] 3 Farmers’ Market documents: Local Authority Forum on Farmers’: published 2008 [73] Guide to Food Markets in Ireland: published 2013 [82] Village Market Handbook: published 2012 [101] | Full documents imported into NVivo (version 1.5.2). Content analysis and themes developed around small firm growth, artisan food, FMs and short food supply chains and sustainability. |
Key field informant interviews | Enterprise Support Officers (3), Food Consultants (2), FM manager (1), FM consultant (1), Market insurance broker (1) Total: 8 Interviews, 37,940 words | CR thematic analysis of interview transcripts in NVivo. | ||
Meso | The structure of relations between individuals in the field. Surveys were based around their motivation to be at FMs and their previous growth and planned future business growth. | Face-to-face survey questions were demographically based, tick-all-that-apply options, 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions | 88 participants—25 FMs | Descriptive analysis in SPSS (version 28.0.0.0). Simple frequencies are examined, and central tendencies are detected through the mode; two-step cluster analysis. |
These interviews were with 2 small artisan food producers that have stalls at Cork markets since their (re)establishment in the early 1990s. Termed ‘Master Artisan’ due to their long tenure. | ‘Master Artisan’ experts identified by their long tenure and dedication to FMs | 2 interviews, 17,348 words | CR thematic analysis of interview transcripts in NVivo. | |
Micro | Small artisan food producers’ perceptions and ‘image’ of the marketplace, past and present experiences. | Field observations and informal conversations | 25 FMs visited, 33,900 words | CR thematic analysis of field notes in NVivo. |
Recorded informal conversations with AFEs | 5 artisan producers, 7297 words | CR thematic analysis of interview transcripts NVivo |
Appendix B
Surveys with Informal Conversations (Not Audio Recorded) and Field Observations | Gender | Role | Data Collected |
---|---|---|---|
Participants #13–#100 (88 participants in total) Note: Participant # is matched to survey response number | 50 male, 38 female | Artisan food producers who use FMs as one of their paths (or only path) to market, are engaged in food production that is not fully mechanised, for which raw ingredients are processed into prepared food products for consumption elsewhere, and who have been in business for a minimum of three years (considered to have overcome their liability of newness). | Average duration of face-to-face survey and informal conversations, 27 min. Conversations were transcribed verbatim where possible, sometimes during the conversation, while the participant was serving customers or directly after the encounter, 33,900 words. |
Semi-structured interviews (pseudonym) | |||
Kathy, Interview 1 | Female | Manages a public urban famers’ market that she founded in 1996; also sells her own grown vegetables at two markets. | 50 min interview, 5629 words |
Mark, Interview 3 | Male | Manager and support officer for incubator kitchen (government initiative for food ventures) and also operates as a food safety consultant. | 20 min interview, 1991 words |
Nancy, Interview 4 | Female | Enterprise support officer (urban). | 60 min interview, 4797 words |
Tracy, Interview 6 | Female | FM consultant for Bord Bia (Irish State Food Board); also sells meat produce from the family farm at one FM (outside the region under research). | 50 min interview, 5619 words |
Brian, Interview 7 | Male | Food business consultant since 2001. | 40 min interview, 4713 words |
Mary, Interview 8 | Female | Enterprise support officer (rural). | 40 min interview, 5544 words |
Tom, Interview 9 | Male | Specialised market traders’ insurance broker for 40 years. | 60 min interview, 3036 words |
Frank, Interview 10 | Male | FM manager and retired trader (rural markets). | 100 min interview, 6611 words |
‘Master Artisan’ interviews (pseudonym and matched to survey response number) | |||
Rolf, Interview 2, #46 | Male | Artisan fish smoker, 40 years trading at FM, original trader in three FMs. | 100 min interview, 9989 words |
Dan, Interview 5, #52 | Male | Artisan baker, 30 years trading at FMs, original trader in two markets. | 90 min interview, 7359 words |
Audio-recorded informal conversations (pseudonym and matched to survey response number) | |||
Maria, #83 | Female | Condiments (horticulturist) | 5 min, 403 words |
Martin, #79 | Male | Dairy (cheese producer) | 30 min, 2156 words |
Willian, #100 | Male | Beverages (farmer) | 20 min, 2002 words |
Olive, #69 | Female | Condiment producer | 5 min, 613 words |
Marcus, #57 | Male | Condiment producer | 30 min, 2123 words |
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Characteristics | Options | Number | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
Gross annual turnover bracket for 2019 | €200,000> | 20 | 23 |
€50,000–€200,000 | 24 | 27 | |
€50,000< | 34 | 37 | |
Prefer not to say | 10 | 11 | |
% of turnover that comes from FMs (open question where respondents estimated %) | 81–100% | 26 | 30 |
61–80% | 12 | 14 | |
41–60% | 18 | 20 | |
21–40% | 11 | 13 | |
1–20% | 21 | 24 | |
Self-selected category of business owner | Full-time farmer | 11 | 13 |
Entrepreneur | 30 | 34 | |
Artisan | 34 | 39 | |
Involved in family business | 6 | 7 | |
Hobbyist | 7 | 8 | |
Business structure | Sole trader | 53 | 60 |
Partnership | 12 | 14 | |
Limited company | 23 | 26 | |
Production unit | Domestic kitchen | 27 | 31 |
Incubator kitchen | 1 | 1 | |
Production unit on farm | 19 | 21 | |
Commercial kitchen | 41 | 47 | |
Full-time employees | Yes | 39 | 44 |
No | 49 | 56 | |
Part-time employees | Yes | 42 | 48 |
No | 46 | 52 | |
Paths to market (respondents could choose all that apply) | Distributors | 11 | 13 |
Supermarkets | 17 | 19 | |
Service sector | 36 | 41 | |
Independent shops | 44 | 50 | |
Online market | 32 | 36 | |
More than one FM | 59 | 67 | |
Own retail shop | 15 | 17 | |
Delis | 33 | 38 | |
Products produced (respondents could choose all that apply) | Bakery | 29 | 33 |
Confectionary | 31 | 35 | |
Meals | 25 | 28 | |
Dairy | 9 | 10 | |
Meat | 8 | 9 | |
Seafood | 7 | 8 | |
Beverages | 11 | 13 | |
Condiments | 30 | 34 | |
Initial financing of business | External financing | 9 | 10 |
Own money | 55 | 63 | |
No investment needed | 24 | 27 |
Cluster Category | Participants | Characteristics | Sustainability (Environment and Social Aspects) |
---|---|---|---|
Domestic oriented sole-traders | n = 31 | 100% are sole-traders 96% operate out of domestic kitchen 37% entrepreneur 32% artisan 100% plan to stay at FMs 71% are satisfied with size of business | 84% felt business environmentally sustainable Source ingredients: 71% local and imported ingredients, 6% own produce 38% motivated to be part of a local food system Business growth means: 52% increase economic, 19% environment, 29% social. |
Commercial oriented entrepreneurs | n = 20 | 100% operate out of commercial kitchen 95% classify themselves as entrepreneur Greater use of other paths to market, mainly service sector (75%) independent shops (57%) and delis (57%). 90% plan to stay at FM 35% satisfied with size of business | 75% felt business environmentally sustainable Source ingredients: 45% local and imported 20% local and own produce, 15% local 50% motivated to be part of local food system Business growth means: 40% economic, 25% environment, 35% social aspect |
Commercial oriented artisans | n = 21 | 100% operate out of commercial kitchen Predominantly artisan (76%) 81% plan to stay at FM 52% satisfied with size of business | 86% felt business environmentally sustainable Source ingredients: 67% local and imported 19% local and own produce, 14% import 67% motivated to be part of local food system Business growth means: 62% economic, 23% environment, 14% social |
On-farm production | n = 16 | 100% operate out of a production unit on the farm Fulltime farmer 56% or artisan 44% 94% rural based 87% plan to stay at FM 75% satisfied with size of business | 87% felt business environmentally sustainable Source ingredients: 69% own produce, 25% local and own produce, 6% local and imported 69% motivated to be part of local food system Business growth means: 50% economic, 38% environment, 12% social |
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Connolly, R.; Bogue, J.; Repar, L. Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective. Sustainability 2022, 14, 11626. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811626
Connolly R, Bogue J, Repar L. Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective. Sustainability. 2022; 14(18):11626. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811626
Chicago/Turabian StyleConnolly, Richael, Joe Bogue, and Lana Repar. 2022. "Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective" Sustainability 14, no. 18: 11626. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811626
APA StyleConnolly, R., Bogue, J., & Repar, L. (2022). Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective. Sustainability, 14(18), 11626. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811626