Strategies to valorise agrobiodiversity

Summary

The current food value chain is characterised by a highly standardised offer produced in an increasingly monotonous agricultural system. In parallel, there is a growing interest among consumers for traditional or regional crop varieties. The conservation of these crops is often done by civil society organisations like Arche Noah, Pro Specie Rara, Rete Semi Rurali, Réseau Semence Paysanne or Red Andaluza de Semillas. Some networks sell their food products in local niche markets, specialised stores and supermarkets. To increase their visibility, some producer groups in the networks are interested in developing or improving a label to valorise agrobiodiversity to the consumer. Based on a representative consumer survey in four European countries, we show that consumer awareness with respect to traditional, old varieties is low but the interest in "Diversifood", defined as more diverse, locally adapted, healthy and tasty produce, is substantial. Therefore, we state, that the availability of a label to valorise agrobiodiversity would respond to consumer needs and increase the visibility of the work done by the networks – but only if it is embedded in an appropriate communication strategy aimed at raising consumer awareness about agrobiodiversity.