Mapping territorial markets: a participatory approach to data collection
Context
Most of the data collected on markets and trade focuses on international trade and formal national marketing channels. There is a lack of information on markets for sustainable products that are not related to global value chains. However, recent discussions in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) have highlighted the importance of understanding territorial markets in which small producers, traders, processors and retailers market food, often used sustainable production methods, that are not necessarily publicly recorded. To understand how food systems can become sustainable and how they can benefit smallholders and ensure food security, we first have to understand how different food systems work.
From the point of view of nutrition, small producers can be very valuable allies in the effort to increase the availability of fresh produce, because of the type of (fresh) food they often sell. Understanding where, how and to whom these producers sell their products, provides an important foundation that can assist decision makers in guaranteeing access to nutritious food.
The project builds on previous work carried out by FAO, in partnership with small producer organizations. The project is a follow-up to the recommendations of the document “Connecting small-scale producers to markets” adopted for the CFS in 2016. These recommendations highlight the importance of markets that are connected to local, national and regional food systems. Specifically markets that are most beneficial to small-scale producers, as well as to food security and rural economies. It was noted that these markets are often not taken into account in data collection systems and therefore are not generally considered in relevant public policies. The document encourages Rome-based Agencies to fill this data gap by collaborating with small producer organizations that are already involved in data collection processes. The 2016 CFS recommendations were formulated as a follow-up to the first set of recommendations on "Investing in smallholder agriculture," approved in 2013 based on the report of the High Level Expert Group.
General Objectives
In order to understand where small producers market their products, the relative prices and the type of consumer, the project will be developed in two phases:
Phase 1: Development of a participatory methodology for the systematic collection of comparable data on territorial markets, capitalizing and enriching the experiences of small producer organizations.
Specific objectives of phase 1 are:
- Exchange of experiences between organizations of small producers involved in the collection of data on territorial markets, FAO and researchers to compare methodologies of analysis and data collection for territorial markets.
- Discuss the requirements for the development of a participatory methodology that is valid and reliable, that responds to the requirements of the partners and can characterize the territorial markets.
- Discuss the development of both qualitative and quantitative indicators that characterize territorial markets.
- Formulate methodological proposals for the collection and analysis of data on territorial markets.
- Formulate objectives and activities for the second phase of the project in which support will be provided to small producer organizations for the adoption or adaptation of the methodology developed throughout phase 1.
Phase 2: Provision of support to small producer organizations that collaborate in the project and that are already collecting data on territorial markets for their specific purposes. Discuss and decide the best way to make the data available in order to create an evidence data base for decision-makers on policies and programs.
Description of Activities
The implementation of phase one will be supervised by a coordination group composed of two spokespersons from small producer organizations involved in the negotiation of the CFS recommendations. In addition, two or three researchers / academics who have followed the process and have esteemed experience on territorial markets, and four spokespersons for the FAO divisions involved in the process. The coordination group will meet in the last quarter of 2017 and will discuss the implementation activities for 2018.
In the first quarter of 2018, a proposed global workshop will bring together small producer organizations and other social groups with selected researchers and FAO technicians with the following objectives: 1) share experiences in data collection and use among stakeholders; 2) identify key issues to consider when recognizing and valuing "territorial" markets; and 3) consider a draft methodology proposal for data collection and analysis.
In the second and third quarters of 2018, three regional workshops (Africa, Asia and Latin America) will be organized with the participation of regional actors. The scope and objectives of these workshops may vary according to regional contexts.
In the first quarter of 2019, the last global workshop will be organized with the following objectives: 1) to consider the results of the previous workshops and a revised version of the mapping method; 2) formulate proposals for phase 2 of the project.
Depending on the results of phase one and its validation by interested producer organizations, phase two of the project will focus on supporting data collection and will seek to cover a larger number of countries. The analysis of this data would lead to proposals of policies on how different actors (public, private, civil) can support territorial markets and strengthen their capacity to provide food to cities in a sustainable and nutritious way and at the same time strengthen rural economies.