Adopting Environmentally Friendly Farming Practices and the Role of Quality Labels and Producer Organisations: A Qualitative Analysis Based on Two European Case Studies

Sabine Duvaleix,Irene Tzouramani,Vasilia Konstantidelli,Marie Lassalas,Laure Latruffe

doi:10.3390/su122410457

Abstract

Various drivers behind the adoption of environmentally friendly practices have been investigated at the farm level in the literature, e.g., farmers’ motivations and attitudes, farms’ structure, and management or policies. Yet, the way in which quality labels and producer organisations influence the adoption of environmentally friendly practices by farmers is still under-researched. We contribute to this topic and present the results of qualitative interviews with producer organisations, conducted in 2019 in two contrasting case studies: the pig sector in Brittany (western France), and the olive oil sector in Crete (Greece). Our study shows that economic actors of food supply chains in these two case studies use European quality labels, a couple of national schemes, and a proliferation of private quality labels (in Brittany’s pig sector). Our interviews reveal that many quality labels, for which agricultural farming systems must comply with a set of rules, are not specifically aimed at improving environmental impacts. In the Cretan olive oil sector, we observe several European public labels. In the French pig sector, many quality labels do not include requirements for practices aiming at improving the environment, but instead focus on other practices that matter for society, namely improving animal welfare. However, advisory services provided by the producer organisations can play a key role in the adoption of environmentally friendly practices. They include research programmes and agronomic events. In Crete, producer organisations are able to offer technical assistance thanks to European support programmes.

Highlights

Consumers are increasingly looking for products that are environmentally friendly
Our research aims to examine how specific instruments used by economic actors in food supply chains influence the adoption of environmentally friendly practices by farmers, namely through both the development of quality labels and various other incentives implemented by producer organisations (POs)
We investigate the role of supply chains in the farms’ adoption of environmentally friendly practices in our two case studies, through two aspects: the quality labels integrating such practices; and the incentives provided by POs

Summary

Introduction

Consumers are increasingly looking for products that are environmentally friendly. In France for example, 70% of consumers have bought at least one organic product within the last six months, while in 1998 this percentage was only 44% [1]. In the late 1990s, private and public labels were developed to take account of consumers’ expectations regarding food safety following several crises (such as mad cow disease, E. coli, etc.) These diverse food crises increased consumer awareness and forced public authorities to develop minimum quality standards and regulated food supply chains to ensure the safety of foodstuffs. The primary responsibility for food safety is borne by the food business operators, leading retailers to develop their own private quality labels such as the British Retail Consortium (BRC), International Food Standard (IFS), or Global Gap certifications These private labels are designed to force suppliers to change their practices, and this increases retailers’ market power [6,7]. They can incentivize their members in the adoption of quality schemes, some of which have environmental requirements

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Conclusion