Analysis of Disruptions in the Agri-food Ecosystem
Summary of the European Alliance Against Coronavirus Daily Webinar on 11 June 2020
ECA organised the third session related to the agri-food ecosystem on 11 June 2020, as it is one of the few ecosystems which could not stop its production during the COVID-19 emergency period. In general, the representatives of this ecosystem expressed a variety of needs. On one hand, the evidence proves that the ecosystem needs to be responsive in short-term and plan mid-term production in order to restart into the future under a new framework. On the other hand, the ecosystem needs to accelerate the transformation: implement digital solution and introduce circular economy activities under the Green Deal. Due to border closures, imports and exports were and are temporary stopped and some countries were experiencing a lack of products in their supermarkets. The agri-food ecosystem is deeply connected with the tourism ecosystem: The mobility restrictions caused a decrease in demands from the HORECA sector. In this period, consumer behaviours are changing as people prefer to consume local food. This change has generated more competition in the market, as local producers are increasingly selling to customers directly. The consumer behaviour also generates a plastic waste problem that impact the environment. Plastic packaging can imply a higher sense of security; therefore, some customers prefer them to non-packed products. Due to mobility restrictions, the ecosystem notices a lack of workforces in harvesting, which is a seasonal job and the pandemic has been spreading at the very time of harvest. In addition, agri-food companies report unsold stocks of short-life products. To deeply analyse the main disruptions highlighted by the ecosystem, the team suggested to organise an expert group to look for possible solutions, prepare for a possible rebound, and compose a “transition plan”, based on circular economy and digitisation.A recording of the session is available here.
These are the complete minutes of the meeting: 20200611 ECA daily minutes_V3.pdfThis is a Letter of Response to the ‘Invitation to collaborate in the study of disruptions and Invitation to collaborate in the study of disruptions and possible solutions on the European AgriFood Ecosystempossible solutions on the European AgriFood Ecosystem’’ by AgriFood Lithuania.
AgriFood Lithuania - Letter of Response to Invitation to collaborate in the study of disruptions and possible solutions on the European AgriFood Ecosystem.pdf Find information on the previous meetings here; information on the upcoming agenda here. Photo by Vasile Valcan on Unsplash