Can geographic regions achieve recognition via "accreditation" (or something similar) for the produce they supply from agriculture and related primary production?
For example, a region in Australia that produces sugar (or another output that is the mainstay) as well as other value-added products (ie perhaps those foods that have been locally manufactured) that could potentially be aggregated as part of a region's offering, so that the region's offerings (as a whole) could be leveraged, marketed and positioned in consumer markets in a more co-ordinated way. It could for example, lend itself to a logo or product label, etc.
Does this make sense as a concept for positioning a region and its produce?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I appreciate that this is a marketing type question but I am looking for some creative input from the smart folks in my network!
If you have ideas on how to better frame the question, I am open to that.
Are there experts in this area that you know of? [Note: I am not suggesting you endorse such individuals or organisations]
For example, case studies on other Australian regions that have attempted to undertake similar endeavors would be most valuable.
Looking forward to your thoughts and ideas on this question.
Kind regards,
Turlough
http://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/home/
http://www.aginstitute.com.au/pages/our-company.html
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/crops/about-crops
It is hard to imagine that all farmers or all in an industrial sector follow the same principles in a larger or smaller region, but there are examples of similar systems:
- vineyards in a geographic area apply their very strict rules to produce high-quality wine and protect the good name of the area,
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) applies the Centralized National Risk Assessments. If a country assessed low risk in all categories, the wood producers do not need individual certificates.
Honestly, I would have doubts to qualify countries for something. It is a judgment of the countries legal system. It is not bad but unusual.
This notion is one that is currently occurring in an ad-hoc manner anyway, but I think you are aware of this if I understand correctly. The cotton industry have created the BMP Cotton brand, which is a brand hinged also on environmental sustainability. Not exactly what you are discussing, but perhaps of interest.
The statement from Robert about the specificity within regions is an important one. In essence, the fact that there was a lot of diversification within regions was the downfall of the Australian extension services being a public provided service and switching to a private service. I might add that the private service failed as the market was a false one; that is, the service had been provided freely previously, so the expectation of paying for it resulted in a failed private market simply because the private providers saw no demand. While this moves away from your point, the initial notion of diverse regions will be important, otherwise something like this would fail. Perhaps there is room here for a micro-transactions type approach whereby regions have multiple sub-regions that build the whole. A region might be defined initially in the manner you suggest, but this profile is fluid based on the farmer input via the micro-transaction of their information. This might also allow the farmer to represent a seasonal profile. As these progress and change with time, then the mean regional profile changes to reflect this using some sort of automated machine learning.
I'd be quite interested to explore this with you if you are going down this path!
If your area have good reputation for a product or producing a unique product GI registration can be a good solution.
A GI stands for Geographic Indication - this is an Intellectual Property of a community of producers, where a product that has special characteristics linked to its geographic origine, can be recognized and the name is then protected on the markets. Examples are : Darjeeling tea, Gruyère cheese, Champagne or even Napa Valley wines.
The system started some 100 years in southern Europe, but is now found in many parts of the world. (A similar concept is Appellations of Origine).
Other formats are regional labels - but these are less well defined and cover several products (basket of goods). I believe a good example of this is from Chiloé Island in Chile. - Hope this is useful !
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