Strategy for the sustainability of Farmers Markets.

Research by James Burke & Associates

Recommendations: The recommendations have been broken under 4 distinct headings:

  • Infrastructure
  • Attracting new farmers and producers.
  • Promoting the market
  • Market Integrity  

1.0 Infracstructure:
  • National Structure: Central to this proposal, is a new support structure for farmers markets, which will be driven by the Department of Agriculture and Food which is set out in Figure 1. below. The core rational is as follows:
    • A new department is set within DAF within specific responsibility for farmers markers
    • All of the existing Government and other recourses would feed into this department and would participate at strategic development level though this channel.
    • The DAF policies would be implemented though each county council who would have a mandatory requirement to support and develop markets and encourage new food producers.
    • Each county would appoint local town market managers who would be expert in market management and would execute the national strategic policy through the support of the other national food agencies and their programmes. The local town market managers would be responsible for the co ordination of all support services.
A full narrative of figure one is provided in Appendix 1. and will set out the detail of how the programme will work.     
  • Linking With Country Markets:  The established network of Country Markets run by the ICA should be seen as a model which has run successfully for many years and should be an integral part of the strategy for the sustainability of farmers markets. In some areas where it is not viable to set up a farmers market, these new producers could be integrated with the country market or visa versa in other locations.
  • Site Selection: Site selection has a critical impact on the success of a farmers’ market. A number of basic parameters should be considered by the local authority when assessing site suitability. These (not in priority order) include:
  •     Central community location
  •     Icon, landmark site
  •     Good visibility
  • Traffic flow
  • Parking access and availability – vendors and shoppers
  • Access to public transport
  • All-weather options
  • Room for market expansion
  •  Proximity to existing retail trade and town centre
  • Flat surfaced area
  • Shade
  • Infrastructure – power, water, public toilets
  •  Site ownership and hire costs
  • Site use approval requirement

Potential sites should be assessed against these criteria and a short-list prepared. The short-listed sites should be subjected to a SWOT analysis conducted by the local town market manager to determine the most suitable venue within the

Community.

Prioritisation of the above criteria is difficult and depends in large part on the specifics of each community. It is however highly advisable to choose a site that meets the maximum number of the above criteria. It should however be noted that some markets have been established on non optimal sites and trade successfully.

It is the view of the TASTE Council that centre of town locations are the best option for markets and very often these centre of town markets can be an active contributor to the revitalization of an area. The local Council must provide adequate parking, access and support services.

  • Service facilities: Mandatory provision of water and relevant electrical requirements by the local council together with sink and waste disposal facilities will need to be in place.     
  • Directional Signage: Oncea markethas traded for longerthan 6 months permanent road directional signage must be provided by the local town authority. For the first 6 months of trading temporary banners and totem poles must be legally permitted to a pre agreed format and in designated areas which allow for maximum communication to the resident and transient population.
  • Motor Way Signage: For towns by passed by motorways permanent market signage must be erected stating that a farmers market operates and the day of the week it happens. 
  • Permanent Roofing: Manymarkets on the continent benefit from a permanent roof structure which allows full access from all sides. These strictures in many cases are ornate buildings and serve as a focal point for other town centre activities on non market days. These should be considered and provided by local authorities where an appropriate site can be found.
  • Permanent Structures: Other permanent structures, such as brick barbeques to allow stall holders to cook product for tasting or to make snack meals for immediate consumption, should also be provided by the local authority.
  • Planning: Local councils should exercise positive discretion when reviewing planning application for farmers markets and its signage. 
 
2.0 Attracting New Farmers and Growers:

  • Encouraging New Entrants:  It will be the responsibility of the local town market manager to encourage new food producers to start business by leveraging the network of state support food agencies into his region to provide talks, training sessions and start your own business workshops. The local town market manager will also provide expert advice on which categories are saturated and which present as opportunities. Other agencies like Teagasc. LEADER etc will link into this strategy in the programmes and supports they develop.
  • Information: A clear and concise directory of all grants and supports available to new stall holders and start up markets should be developed by DAF and circulated through the County Council network as a singular point of information for markets.
  • Grants: 100% grants should be made available for the purchase of umbrellas, tables and display signage to a maximum of operating at 2 sites. (As an alternative the market should provide these) Fridges and conversion of vehicles to refrigerated units should be 50% grant assisted.
  • Training: Each local town market manager will be responsible for the mentoring and training/advice of all new stall holders. These training services will be sourced from the existing support resources e.g. LEADER, Bord Bia etc. No new stall holder should be allowed to commence without first completing an orientation training day.
  • Farmer Education: If the farmers market strategy is to succeed a new education programme to help farmers recognise the opportunity that exits within markets should be run by a Government agency e.g. Teagasc
  • Current Food Agency Supports: It is envisaged under the new strategy that all the current food agencies (Bord Bia, LEADER etc) would operate as normal, except they would bring their knowledge to the DAF central team and influence policy, and would support and respond to requests from local market managers. Their participation at both levels would be mandatory.
 

3.0 Promoting The Market:
  • Food Group: Each County Manger will be responsible for the creation of a county food group which will act as a networking group for local food producers and as a national marketing platform for marketing the produce of that county. These should be modelled on the current groups run by LEADER e.g. Louth Food Group. Funding will be made available to these groups to for logo design and marketing supports. Food group members would only be available
  • Local Marketing and Promotion:
Local marketing and promotion of the market will be the responsibility of the local town market manager and the market committee and will be a vital part of the communication.
  • A strategic marketing plan should be prepared and will facilitate the success of the market launch and its ongoing viability. The strategic marketing plan will encompass three phases:
                                                                            • Market Development
                                                                            • Market Implementation
                                                                            • Market Operation

    • It should be supported by a communications and media plan that targets the various stakeholder groups in the community. The first target group is the community stakeholders, then farmers and food producers, and finally consumers.
    • Engagement of local and regional media is critical to a successful market launch and its subsequent growth.
    • In addition to media coverage, certain promotional endeavors are recommended and depending on available budget can include:
                                                                                • Street signage
                                                                                • Site signage
                                                                                • Posters
                                                                                • Retail window displays
                                                                                • Letterbox leaflet drops
                                                                                • Mobile advertising – i.e. a tractor with a billboard
                                                                                • Newsletter
                                                                                • Email campaign
                                                                                • Fundraiser

  • Marketing Grant: Each new market which opens should qualify for €10,000 marketingfunding which would be administered by the local town market manager and the market committee. Existing markets should qualify for a €5000 per year marketing grant subject the market achieving agreed quality and customer standards for a maximum of 3 years. This grant would require the traders matching it with €1000 annually.  This support would be available only to markets that have in excess of 80% of stall holders who grow/produce their own products.
  • Customer Panels: Local town market managers would be required to facilitate and fund one customer panel each quarter made up of a mix of market customers and non customers. The objective of these sessions is to get feedback on a direct basis to assist the manager in addressing issues. These listening group comments should be circulated to all the stall holders the local town manager and the county manager.
  • Formal Research: Each market should have one formal piece of research conducted in its town annually for the first 2 years of existence to gain a broader insight into opportunity areas and have its results circulated to stall holders, town and county manager and published on the DAF website so that all other managers/stall holders can learn from the findings.  
  • National Website: Website services are currently provided in several ways through farmer’s markets groups, Bord Bia and directly by some markets. It will be necessary to fund, develop and maintain a national website with sub sites for every single market in the country.
  • National Advertising/Education: While significant local marketing has been advocated above there will be a strong need for national advertising programmes to raise the profile of the market concept and to help customers understand the concept of seasonal and local produce. Themes such as national farmer’s market week and ongoing national focus on the topic through formal advertising and PR would need to be considered. A minimum of €1m would need to be set aside for this to have impact.
  • School Education: As part of the education syllabus for primary schools, visits to local markets, meet the maker sessions and an overall understanding of the market ethos, seasonality and organic production should be all linked in. Schools with their own gardens should be encouraged to take a stall to sell the products while in season.
  • Transition Students: Transition students should be encouraged to work on stalls at farmers markets and possibly be given the task of setting up their own stall for a number of weeks with the support of the local manager.
  • Coupon Schemes:  Both America and the UK provide coupons or vouchers to people who live in the area of a market and who may be in receipt of other social welfare benefits. These schemes should be used in Ireland to both enhance welfare benefits, provide recipients with access to local foods they might otherwise not buy and also benefit the local food producers.
  • Full Shop: It must always be possible for the consumer to do a full shop at the market if at all possible and every market should have this as part of their strategy. This ability to do a  full shop must be communicated to all consumers as part of the marketing plan. Key categories which should be viewed as vital are:
      • Meat.
      • Fruit and Vegetables.
      • Fish.
      • Bread.
      • Cakes.
      • Eggs.
      • Dairy.
      • Cheese.
      • Treat products. 
 

4. Market Integrity:
  • Stall Holder Licensing/Accreditation:  There are strong views about the licensing of stall holders. Some would argue that unless stall holders are licensed, that a free for all will occur with traders masquerading as farmers/producers thus eroding consumer confidence in the whole concept. Others will debate strongly that licensing will merely end up being a bureaucratic nightmare heavy on administrative costs and prohibitive on new entrants. It is recommended that licensing is not used, in favour of a voluntary rating system for individual stall holders which would allow producers to aim for which ever level is most appropriate for their situation. Sample rating:
    • 3 Star: Stall holders with 100% of their product grown or produced within a 40 mile radius plus achievement of predetermined set of KPIs for display, signage, QA standards parking etc.
    • 2 Star: Stall holders with 80% of their product grown or produced more 40 than miles away, or who have a mix of their own product and 20% of product made by others, plus achievement of predetermined set of KPIs for display, signage, QA standards etc
    • 1 Star: Stall holderswho produce less than 80% of their own product and instead act as traders for products made by others either nationally or imported.
The rating system would be operated by the local town market manager together with the market committee. Funding mentioned in the other sections e.g marketing grants etc should be on a scale, based on the rating the stall holder achieves with most incentives given to the 3 Star stall holders.

Significant national and local consumer advertising would need to run in parallel to ensure the scheme is understood and referred to by shoppers.

Where private markets operate they should be eligible to apply for a rating and will be audited by a contracted third party audit firm. These audits will have to be funded privately. 

  • Farmers Market/Food Market/Naming: The only markets entitled to call themselves a farmers market would be those where all stall holders have acquired a 3 star rating. Those with one star or two stars would be called food markets. If a market had any element of non food in it such as crafts etc the words “food” or “farmers” could not be used in the title.
  • Private Markets: Stall holders who trade at private markets should have access to any training programmes which are being run however should not qualify for tax exemption, grants or support from local town market mangers. To qualify for the above they must trade in at least one local authority market and sales generated at the private market would not qualify for exemption.