Hero photograph
Farmers' market produce. Image in the public domain.
 

Farmers' markets

Lesley Brook —

Anna Palliser explores the opportunities, challenges and barriers that influence the availability of local food at farmers' markets.

Global food systems are fragile, and we need to protect and strengthen reliable local supply networks for community resilience. The number of small-scale food growers in Aotearoa has dwindled significantly over the last 15 years. Farmers' markets have reported low availability of growers selling their produce. Why is this, and what can we do about it?

Anna Palliser at the Southern Institute of Technology carried out a scoping study in Otago/Southland to investigate current trends of availability of growers and some of the causes of these trends. Anna undertook face-to-face semi-structured interviews with representatives of farmers' markets and their local food growers. Anna asked them why they thought farmers' markets had a shortage of growers and food producers, what obstacles do they face that stops them coming to market to sell, and what might help. 

Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified a range of factors. The five most significant factors, based on the frequency and intensity with which they were mentioned by interviewees, are:

  1. Compliance/regulatory costs, for example health and safety obligations for different kinds of food production.

  2. Supermarkets are driving out small diverse growers. They prefer large scale monoculture, and supermarket supplies can't also sell at a farmers' market.

  3. A shortage of available land and the cost of land. High quality soils close to cities are being built on as suburbs spread.

  4. The skillset is mainly in older people. Young people are not carrying on because of capital costs, and farms are being agglomerated as farmers retire. 

  5. Increased transport and work costs of farmers selling at a market selling. Growers are now further from cities due to land use changes.

Results have been disseminated to participants and to the national conference of the Farmers' Markets New Zealand (FMNZ) organisation.